Green turtles were once a delicacy in Kenya, but may no longer be eaten under laws to protect the endangered species from extinction. but they're # still hungry so they keep eating and it compounds, compounds, compounds and they explode on the inside," said Casper van de Geer, manager of Local Ocean Conservation, which runs the Watamu turtle rescue.But "sometimes they can't."It's a very successful story, we are hoping to release it if not today, in the next two days or so.-

Sometimes they can't' -Many turtles are found floating, barely alive, having eaten so much plastic that they become buoyant and can no longer dive into the depths where they live and feed.Fisherman-turned-environmentalist Kahindi Changawa, 40, looks with a smile over the tank for Kai, a green turtle which has been recovering from plastic ingestion at the Watamu rehabilitation centre for nearly a month.Dozens of the endangered creatures need rescuing every year around the coastal town of Watamu, where plastic litter accumulates in the Indian Ocean and the beach from as far afield as Indonesia, Madagascar and Yemen, according to the product labels.Ahead of the UNEA meeting to tackle the scourge of pollution, UN Environment Programme head Erik Solheim urged action to stop the oceans becoming a "plastic soup". die...1 billion tonnes of plastic had been produced to date, most of it dumped into landfills and the oceans. 

And by now it is pretty much everywhere.Plastic is cheap, versatile and nigh-indestructible."Sometimes I find (plastic) in the stomachs" of the fish he catches....As its human handlers step aside, Kenzo struggles out of the harness, pushes hard with its flippers on the sand, and slides into small waves specked with bits of plastic trash. Dozens of the endangered creatures need rescuing every year around Watamu, where plastic litter accumulates in Indian Ocean."Plastic ocean pollution is a key item on the menu for ministers from over 100 countries gathering in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi for a three-day UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) starting Monday.8 million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean every year, the equivalent of a garbage truck dumping a full load every minute. More (often) than not, the animal will.

In Watamu, the locals do what they can."Some plastic is brought from the sea. To their peril.Mohamed Iddi, a 42-year-old fisherman, proudly proclaims that he voluntarily collects two or three large garbage bags full of plastic along the Blue Lagoon beach every day..The problem is a global one, affecting all the oceans and hundreds of animal and plant species. it will think maybe it is something to eat. (Photo: Pixabay) Gently, Kenzo the sea turtle is lowered onto a beach where a scattering of bottle caps, candy wrappers, yoghurt cups and discarded flipflops scar an otherwise idyllic setting. On top of the laxative, it was given anti-bacterial and anti-parasitic medicines, and appetite-boosting multivitamins."It causes a blockage.Turtles confuse these items, bobbing and fluttering about in the ocean currents, for jellyfish or other prey.-'

A very successful story' -In July, US researchers said more than 9. when it finds something like this.Most common are bottle tops, but there are also cigarette lighters, toothbrushes, food containers, different lengths of string, drinks bottles and of course, the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag. Some others is from."Or they are in such pain that they recognise that they have to stop eating and they basically starve," he told AFP at Watamu's Blue Lagoon as he repeatedly bent down to pick up one piece of beach litter after the other.Once they reach this point, few can be saved."Many others will not be so lucky. when people they come for the enjoyment on the beach, for the barbecue, the picnic," he says, pointing to large piles of collected rubbish, divided into categories, with a special heap for shoe soles.."

Elsewhere in town, a project called Regeneration Africa melts and treats the plastic gathered by volunteers such as Iddi, and moulds it into paving stones and other materials to sell for funds to continue the anti-plastic drive. "Ropes, the small ones. Because when the fish goes to look for some prey.According to environmental group WWF, 8.For six days now, no plastic has been spotted in the turtle's stool, Changawa says with tangible relief."It has fully recovered, when you take it out (of the recovery tank) it is flapping, it is fighting," he said.

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