Endangered turtles dead due to polluted UAE shores
3 Min Read
Marine experts reveal that dead sea turtles on the shores of the UAE are caused by widespread plastic bags, packages, and bottle caps in the water.
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A rescued green turtle on the east coast of the UAE.
A group of researchers has published a new study in the Marine Pollution Bulletin journal, documenting the danger of plastic around the world and in the UAE on marine life, reported the Associated Press.
Along the shores of Kalba -- a city on the east coast of the UAE -- and Khor Fakkan in the Sharjah emirate, plastic bags, packages, bottle caps, and dead turtles can be found.
Fadi Yaghmour, a marine expert who examined 200 turtles for the study, told the Associated Press that the turtles were "probably malnourished" and have been consuming waste such as shriveled balloons and plastic foam.
According to the expert, plastic blocks the turtles’ intestinal tracts and can make them starve.
The published study found that 75 percent of dead green turtles and 57 percent of dead loggerhead turtles in Sharjah ate plastic bags, fishing nets, bottle caps, ropes.
Inside the body of one dead turtle in Sharjah, experts found 325 sharp-edged material, and 32 pieces of the fishing net were inside the body of another turtle.
Yaghmour warned that "When the majority of sea turtles have plastics in their bodies, you know you have a significant problem."
The World Conservation Union said the Hawksbill, green, and loggerhead sea turtles are endangered.
The Associated Press mentioned that "Skyrocketing amounts of litter pollute the world's environment, with a seminal study in Science Advances five years ago estimating that 12 billion metric tons will pile up by 2050."
The study explained that the dead sea turtles would mistakenly eat plastic, bottle caps, and ropes that look similar to cuttlefish, jellyfish, and snails.
Al-Qurum Mangrove Center's Operational Manager, Abdulkarim Vettan said “If we lose these turtles, the ecosystem will die."
It is noteworthy that the oil-rich UAE is the world’s highest carbon-dioxide emitter and trash producer per capita.
"Over the past decades, plastic use and waste surged as the UAE transformed at warp-speed from a parched desert pearling towns into a super-modern business hub known worldwide for its culture of consumerism," indicated the Associated Press.
According to environmental studies, the process of constructing Dubai damaged the natural reef and turtle nesting sites along the coast.
