There’s no doubt about it, plastic pollution is a scourge of every ocean. Among the denizens of the sea that are affected are turtles, who can mistake plastic for jellyfish, one if their favorite delicacies.
Scuba instructor Tyler Hart was diving with a student off Cooper Island the British Virgin Islands recently when they saw one such turtle hanging out at the bottom of the shallow water.
When Tyler and his student approached the turtle, it didn’t do what it would normally do, i.e. swim off.
As Tyler got closer to it, he noticed the edge of a plastic bag hanging from its mouth. After some gentle effort, he was able to get the bag — which contained US$10 (about 8.7 Euros) in coins — out of the turtle, which then swam to the surface and began gulping air.
To read more about Tyler’s experience, check out his website at snowbirdsintraining.com.
And to do something about the scourge of plastic in the oceans, check out the Project AWARE website at projectaware.org.
(Photo credit: Melissa Hart)
