On November 16, a deceased Green Sea Turtle was found on the shores of Wallis Lakes at Green Point.
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Matilda Oldfield at first thought it was just nature taking its course, but subsequently heard of a few others washing up dead.
National Parks and Wildlife NSW said it had not been informed of any turtle fatalities in recent times.
Smiths Lake resident Kath Cheers recalled another local deceased turtle undergoing an autopsy almost a decade ago.
“It was chock a block full of small plastic bags,” she said.
“Turtles eat jellyfish, and plastic bags can look similar in the water to them.”
Dr Jodi Rowley, the herpetology curator for the Australian Museum, confirmed Green Sea Turtles are in the area.
“It’s a shame to see a dead one. Not sure of the cause of death but plastics including bags do cause mortality unfortunately. There’s quite a number of papers on the problem, it’s a big issue,” she said.
Matilda said that “I feel like maybe people need a friendly reminder of the true damage that this rubbish does to our marine life and our infamous waterways which I feel are truly taken for granted.”
“I walk along the shores of this lake at least once a day and the amount of rubbish that washes up or is left on the ground is both astounding and disgusting considering how easy it is to find a bin these days,” she said.
She urged people to walk that extra step to the bin, or to pick up any rubbish they see rather than walking past it.