Sperm whale in Indonesia found with 1,000 plastic pieces in stomach
- 5 years ago
Officials in Indonesia say a dead sperm whale that washed ashore in the east of the country had nearly six kilograms of plastic waste in its stomach.
Rescuers from Wakatobi National Park found the rotting carcass of the nine and a half-meter whale on Monday near Kapota Island.
Park officials said the waste included more than a thousand pieces of plastic, including cups, bags, bottles, as well as a couple of flip-flops.
Marine conservation officials said it was not possible to determine if the plastic had caused the whale's death because of the animal's advanced state of decay.
According to the journal Science, Indonesia is the world's second-largest plastic polluter after China.
Nearly half of the three million tons of mismanaged plastic waste produced in the country each year ends up in the ocean.
Rescuers from Wakatobi National Park found the rotting carcass of the nine and a half-meter whale on Monday near Kapota Island.
Park officials said the waste included more than a thousand pieces of plastic, including cups, bags, bottles, as well as a couple of flip-flops.
Marine conservation officials said it was not possible to determine if the plastic had caused the whale's death because of the animal's advanced state of decay.
According to the journal Science, Indonesia is the world's second-largest plastic polluter after China.
Nearly half of the three million tons of mismanaged plastic waste produced in the country each year ends up in the ocean.