Marine debris and human impacts on sea turtles in southern Brazil

Abstract

Dead stranded sea turtles were recovered and examined to determine the impact of anthropogenic debris and ®shery activities on sea turtles on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Esophagus/stomach contents of 38 juvenile green Chelonia mydas, 10 adults and sub-adults logger- head Caretta caretta, and two leatherback Dermochelys coriacea turtles (adult or sub-adult) included plastic bags as the main debris ingested, predominated by white and colorless pieces. The ingestion of anthropogenic debris accounted for the death of 13.2% of the green turtles examined. Signs of damage over the body and carapace indicated that ®shing activities caused the death of 13.6% (3/22) of loggerheads and 1.5% (1/56) of green turtles. Therefore, it appears that direct and indirect e?ects of ®shing activities may pose a threat to these species in Brazilian waters. Other sources of plastic debris should be investigated as well as the direct impact of ®sheries, es- pecially bottom trawl and gill nets, in order to establish e?ective conservation action. Ó 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: