Photo/Illutration An autopsy showed that an endangered leatherback sea turtle that died after being caught in a fixed fishing net off Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, had swallowed two plastic bags. (Provided by Muroto Haiko Suizokukan aquarium)

MUROTO, Kochi Prefecture--An endangered leatherback sea turtle found dead in a fishing net in local waters here in June had swallowed two plastic bags, an autopsy of its stomach contents showed.

The juvenile turtle apparently mistook the bags for food when it came across them floating in the sea.

A local fisherman found the animal, which was caught in a fixed net, on June 21, according to Motoki Wakatsuki, who heads Muroto Haiko Suizokukan (an elementary school-turned-aquarium).

Aquarium staff performed an autopsy on the turtle to examine the stomach contents, and found two plastic bags in its large bowel and stomach.

One is a disposable shopping bag measuring 42 centimeters by 25 cm, while the other is 30 cm by 20 cm.

Wakatsuki said the turtle apparently became tangled in the net and suffocated, which would seem to rule out the plastic bags as the cause of death.

From July 1, retail and other outlets are required to charge for plastic bags as a measure to reduce plastic waste, which has become a serious maritime environmental problem.

“It’s a problem that plastic waste is flowing into the sea,” said Wakatsuki, also a researcher of sea turtles.

Leatherback turtles feed on jelly fish, but tend to gobble up just about anything they come across, sometimes mistakenly swallowing inedible objects, according to Wakatsuki.

The species is listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, headquartered in Switzerland.

The leatherback is said to be the biggest type of turtle in the world with a shell that can grow to about 2 meters. An adult turtle can weigh as much as a minicar.

This one was believed to be a juvenile as its shell measured about 1.2 meters.

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