Sea Turtles and Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution is a growing threat to sea turtles worldwide, and scientists are only beginning to understand its impacts. In this post, we’ll explore the main issues surrounding sea turtles and plastic pollution and provide links out to other resources where you can take a deeper dive into this topic.

We’ve also put together a short video about sea turtles and plastic pollution as part of our Sea Turtles: Deep Dive series – watch it below!

Overview: Plastic and turtles

Plastic pollution in our oceans is a massive problem that impacting sea turtles and many other marine species. Staggeringly, between 5–13 million metric tons of plastic waste are estimated to enter our oceans annually — equal to dumping a garbage truck full of plastic every minute! This problem is made worse by the fact that plastics last forever. When they degrade, they break down into microplastics that last in the environment indefinitely. It is no surprise, then, that researchers predict that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight.

For sea turtles, which have been around for over 100 million years, plastics are a brand new, but devastating, threat. Despite millennia of evolution, surviving mass extinctions, and outliving the dinosaurs, sea turtles struggle to withstand the impacts of plastics on them and their environments.

The good news is that there are many solutions to ocean plastic pollution already out there, and there is a growing movement of people, organizations, governments, and businesses taking action to fight plastic pollution worldwide. Continue reading to learn how plastics endanger sea turtles and discover ways to get involved and make a difference!

How is plastic affecting sea turtles?

Sea turtles come into contact with plastic debris at various stages throughout their life cycle and in a range of different habitats both near the coast and out in the open ocean. Plastic pollution affects sea turtles in two main ways: 1) through ingestion, and 2) through entanglement.

1. Ingestion: Sea turtles can ingest plastic by mistaking it for their natural food (for example, a plastic bag that looks like a jellyfish), or by accidentally eating plastic that is present among their natural food (for example, a plastic straw on the seafloor among crustaceans). Researchers have also found that sea turtles are attracted to the way that marine plastics smell, likely due to the organisms that latch on to plastic debris in the ocean. As a result, scientists have estimated that more than half of all sea turtles have eaten plastic. When sea turtles eat plastic, it can cause physical damage to their intestines, lead to blockages, or trick the turtles into feeling full when they are not, all of which can cause sea turtles to become sick, or even to die.

2. Entanglement: Sea turtles can become entangled in plastic waste, such as discarded fishing gear, also known as "ghost nets” / “ghost gear," or other debris, while they are migrating, feeding, or even while they are nesting. Entanglement can lead to injuries, can hinder their ability to swim, to surface for air, or to feed, and, in severe cases, can lead to drowning and death. Scientists estimate that at least 1,000 sea turtles die each year due to entanglement in plastic—that’s an average of more than 1 turtle every 9 hours!

The risks of ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic pollution may be especially significant for young sea turtles. This is because sea turtles spend their early years floating with ocean currents, where they live in flotsam, such as Sargassum mats (brown algae), and eat other organisms that float with the currents. Sadly, plastic waste is also transported by ocean currents, leading to an unfortunate convergence that puts young sea turtles at higher risk of ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic. However, because sea turtles’ developmental habitats are difficult to find and to access, very little is known about the early years of sea turtles’ lives, including how young turtles are being impacted by plastic pollution. More research is needed in this area, and will undoubtedly be a focus of scientists in the years ahead.

What’s being done to reduce the impacts of plastic on sea turtles?

Efforts to find solutions to the plastic pollution problem are underway globally, and many solutions already exist. For example, the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to significantly reduce and prevent marine pollution, including plastic, by 2025, and in 2022, 175 nations agreed to sign a legally binding plastics treaty by 2024.

Hundreds of organizations globally are also working to fight plastic pollution by organizing cleanups, advocating to governments, creating public awareness campaigns, and coming up with novel ways to repurpose plastic waste. Many efforts also focus specifically on plastic and sea turtles, both by conducting much-needed research and also by rehabilitating turtles that are sick or injured from ingestion or entanglement in plastic.

What can I do about sea turtles and plastic pollution?

The good news is that you can make a difference too! By reducing your use of single-use plastics such as straws, plastic bags, and disposable utensils, properly disposing of your waste in appropriate bins, and picking up any loose plastic waste you come across, you can have a significant impact on the well-being of sea turtles and other ocean wildlife. If you’re looking for an easy way to get started, sign up for Oceanic Society’s 7-Day Fight Plastic Waste Challenge to get simple, daily ideas to help you fight plastic pollution at home. To learn about more opportunities to make a difference, read up on the many solutions to plastic pollution that are already out there.

Taking action to reduce plastic use and properly dispose of waste is crucial in protecting these ancient creatures from further harm. Together, we can make a difference and ensure a brighter future for sea turtles and our oceans.

Where can I learn more about sea turtles and plastic pollution?

Check out the following articles to learn more about sea turtles and plastic:

• Menace or Hype: What's Next in Understanding Ocean Plastic Pollution?

• Juvenile Sea Turtles and Plastic Ingestion – A Possible Evolutionary Trap? Expert Q&A

• Sea Turtle Threats: Pollution & Pathogens

• Turtles and Plastic: The Case For More Action

• Addressing the Plastic Pollution Challenge in Uruguay

• Turtles Help Tackle Ocean Plastic Pollution in Europe

Scientific publications:

• Plastic Pollution and Small Juvenile Marine Turtles: A Potential Evolutionary Trap

• Risk analysis reveals global hotspots for marine debris ingestion by sea turtles

• Odors from marine plastic debris elicit foraging behavior in sea turtles

• Plastic and marine turtles: a review and call for research

• Plastic Ingestion in Post-hatchling Sea Turtles: Assessing a Major Threat in Florida Near Shore Waters

• Plastic ingestion in oceanic-stage loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) off the North Atlantic subtropical gyre

• Plastic ingestion by sea turtles in Paraíba State, Northeast Brazil

• Persistent organic pollutants in fat of three species of Pacific pelagic longline caught sea turtles: Accumulation in relation to ingested plastic marine debris

• What type of plastic do sea turtles in Korean waters mainly ingest? Quantity, shape, color, size, polymer composition, and original usage

• Ingestion of plastic marine litter by sea turtles in southern Brazil: abundance, characteristics and potential selectivity

• A quantitative analysis linking sea turtle mortality and plastic debris ingestion

• More articles