Two dead turtles have been found on Kuakata sea beach in Patuakhali. One weighed about 25 kg and the other 20 kg.

Jewel Rana, a member of the Kuakata Dolphin Rokkha Committee, spotted the two turtles within one kilometre of each other at 11am on 22 March (Tuesday) in the Tetrishkani area of the beach's Gangamati point.

Jewel and local fishermen said they had seen the two turtles wash ashore on the morning tide, one large and one small. Members of the dolphin committee and Eco-Fish 2 were informed; they came, recovered the turtles, kept parts as samples and arranged for them to be buried.

Sagarika Smriti, associate researcher with the USAID/Eco-Fish 2 WorldFish Bangladesh project in Patuakhali district, told Jagonews that the turtles may have come ashore because the number of jellyfish rose a few days ago, as turtles like to eat jellyfish. The two turtles are Lepidochelys olivacea. They usually live more than 50 years, but these two may be 15 to 20 years old.

Ruman Imtiaz Tushar, team leader of the Kuakata Dolphin Rokkha Committee, told Jagonews that the turtles had injury marks on their mouths and tails, and appeared to have died after getting caught in something. The larger one is male and the smaller female.

Two turtles were found in April last year, and now two more dead turtles have been found this March. He said these deaths of marine animals are a serious threat to the marine environment.

Earlier, on the afternoon of Monday, 21 March, a dead dolphin seven feet long was found on Kuakata beach. The two dead turtles were found at the same place 18 hours later.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.