An autopsy on Tuesday found that a 280kg leatherback turtle that died following surgery on Monday had 9m of fishing net in its digestive tract and showed signs of an internal obstruction.
The turtle was on Saturday rescued from a set-net fishing ground near Gengfang Fishing Harbor (梗枋漁港) in Yilan County, the Taiwan Cetacean Society said.
During the autopsy, veterinary surgeons found that the female turtle had partial gastric mucosal necrosis, suggesting a possible intestinal obstruction, as well as significant kidney abnormalities, the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) said in a statement.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Cetacean Society
The surgeons extracted the 9m-long section of fishing net from the turtle’s stomach, which was in addition to a 1.6m section of net pulled from the turtle’s digestive tract during surgery on Monday.
The exact cause of death would be determined following a pathology report, the OCA said.
The turtle was discovered by a fisherman on Saturday morning, tangled in a net and bleeding from the mouth, and was sent to Keelung for treatment. It had a curved carapace length of 148cm and was estimated to be 25 to 30 years old.
Veterinary surgeons performed surgery on it on Monday evening, removing a 1.6m section of net from the turtle’s digestive tract. Although the animal initially appeared stable after the procedure, its condition deteriorated rapidly, and it was pronounced dead at about 11pm.
Asked why the 9m of fishing net was not discovered during the operation, an OCA spokesperson said that it might have been because the net was tightly tangled inside the turtle’s stomach and not easy to detect.
After the turtle’s death, the OCA said that it would strengthen inter-agency cooperation and raise public awareness of reporting mechanisms to enable faster, more effective rescue efforts, improve survival rates and protect marine biodiversity.
Leatherback turtles are the world’s largest sea turtles and are listed as an endangered species in Taiwan.
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