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What killed the 27 sea turtles: Officials await DWC post mortem results
View(s):By Sandun Jayawardana
The mystery over a large number of turtle carcasses that have been washing up along the Western coast, is yet to be resolved.
The decaying carcasses of 27 sea turtles have washed up along the coast since August 22, the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) said. Ten carcasses had washed up along the coast from Negombo to Mattakkuliya, 12 were found along the coast from Colombo to Kalutara while a further five had washed up along the coast from Kalutara to Galle. They were all identified as belonging to the Olive ridley species.
The large number of carcasses washing up on the coast is being treated as an unusual occurrence.
The large number of carcasses washing up on the coast is being treated as an unusual occurrence
Some of the dead sea turtles had damaged shells and the cause behind the damage is still unclear. Initial speculation was that they may have been killed due to an explosion, a result of illegal fishing conducted using explosives. The DWC however, said, investigations are still ongoing to ascertain the cause of death.
The DWC had submitted facts regrading the sea turtles to the Colombo Magistrate’s Court and the court had ordered the carcasses to be sent to the DWC’s Veterinary Surgeon in Bellanwila for post-mortem examinations. These examinations have been partially completed and the Department is now awaiting further reports from the Government Analyst’s Department and the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) as per the court order to complete its report and submit it to court, the DWC’s Director General Chandana Sooriyabandara told the Sunday Times.
The National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) too has collected samples from some of the carcasses as well as water samples from the region where they were found for investigations, a NARA official said. The agency is awaiting the determination of the DWC regarding the cause of death as it is the lead agency in the investigation, the NARA official added.
There are various possibilities over what could have caused the deaths of such a large number, said Prof. Terney Pradeep Kumara, Professor in Oceanography at the Department of Oceanography and Marine Geology, University of Ruhuna. They include illegal blast fishing by fishermen, an explosion conducted in the deep sea during a naval exercise, a chemical plume from the release of toxic chemicals or some areas of water suddenly turning toxic owing to the effects of climate change. “However, we simply don’t know at this point. It is up to the DWC to carry out these post-mortems and come to a definite conclusion.”
Five out of seven species of sea turtles in the world are known to visit Sri Lanka’s shores. Prof. Kumara said the fact that so many Olive ridley sea turtles had died may be linked to their endurance capacity. The more vulnerable species are the first to be affected by sudden changes in their environment.
He said it was incumbent on the DWC to determine a cause of death as soon as possible to understand the situation and take protective measures. This might prove challenging however given that the carcasses are decayed. “Ideally, you need the carcasses to be fresh to easily identify what killed them but here they have been washed ashore in advance stages of decomposition.”
There have been two previous occasions where a large number of carcasses of dead sea turtles were washed ashore in recent years. The carcasses of 251 sea turtles washed up along different parts of the coast in the months following the X-Press Pearl disaster in May, 2021. This is in addition to 28 carcasses of dolphins and five whales. The deaths were attributed to the ship’s fire and leak of toxic chemicals. In October, 2020, the carcasses of some 20 sea turtles and four porpoises washed up along the Western and Eastern coasts over several days. These deaths were attributed to the oil spill caused by the MT New Diamond tanker in September of that year.
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