Dozens of sea turtles have been found dead off the coast of a remote Japanese island. Many of them died by being stabbed in the neck.
People on Kumejima Island in Okinawa, Japan found the carcasses of about 30 green turtles after low tide revealed their bodies, according to a report by the Osaka-based newspaper Asahi Shimbun. Some of the turtles had stab wounds to their necks and some had bloody slashes on their fins.
Police are investigating the incident as a possible case of animal cruelty and are currently in the process of questioning witnesses. Authorities have yet to comment on the incident, but an anonymous source familiar with the matter said it was likely that a local fishing company was responsible for the incident.
"Many of them were entangled in fishing nets. I released some of them and released them into the sea, but I couldn't free the heavy ones, so I stabbed them to get rid of them," said one fishery operator, quoted by The Mainichi, Tuesday (19/7). /2022).
Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) can be found in waters around the world, with their natural range extending throughout the planet's tropical and subtropical seas. However, the species and their homes are facing increasing problems.
The species is considered endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Their population is currently dwindling and they face a myriad of threats, most of which are the result of human activities.
The degradation of their natural habitat is a major problem, but one of the most detrimental factors is the deliberate removal of eggs and adult turtles from the beaches where they nest.
As these recent events show, they are also in conflict with fishermen who often catch them in fishing nets as an accidental bycatch.
Their diet consists mainly of algae and seagrass, but they also forage for sponges, small invertebrates, and discarded fish. Unfortunately, their food supplies are increasingly contaminated with plastic.
In 2018, scientists observed seven species of sea turtles living in three different oceans and found that all individual sea turtles contained microplastics in their stomachs.