Officials from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) were informed of the discovery by the Marine National Park Operations Center 2 on Tuesday (Oct 29).
DMCR officials from the Andaman Sea Coastal and Marine Resources Research Center, operated by the DMCR at Cape Panwa, on Phuket’s east coast, identified the turtle as a juvenile olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), weighing approximately three kilogrammes.with a shell just 35cm wide and 32cm long.
The turtle was observed to be underweight, with a body condition score of ‘⅖’. Marine debris, including rope, fishing nets and driftwood were found wrapped around the turtle’s fron left flipper and hind flippers, causing ulcers and strictures.
Further investigation revealed the turtle had drowned.
An autopsy showed signs of a severe abdominal infection, inflammation of internal organs and a troubling discovery of rope lodged in its stomach, the DMCR reported.
The digestive tract was empty, indicating the young turtle may have struggled to find food before its death.
The remains of an adult sea turtle were found at Kamala Beach on Wednesday last week.
That discovery came among a spate of dugong deaths, with three dead dugongs found in Phuket coastal waters within nine days.