Trivia question for Feb-22-2011

Well today is Carter’s 10th birthday and as we sat down and reflected on the first full year of their OMG organization, I asked him what he enjoyed the most so far.  After a few minutes of reflection, he said he loved working with all the sea turtles that they helped at the Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Rescue Center during the oils spill the most.  So to celebrate the species, Carter decided to write his trivia about sea turtles, so here goes:

These large sea turtles are found in temperate and tropical waters throughout areas of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.  They are also found in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.  The females only leave the water to lay eggs and the males never leave the water.

These guys are listed as endangered and accidental capture in commercial shrimp nets kills an estimated 50,000 of these guys each year.  In 1989, the US passed a law requiring shrimpers to use special nets which have a metal gate at the end which allows these guys to escape.

At night when the babies hatch they are drawn to light which has prompted many beaches to turn off all lights during this time so not to confuse the hatchlings.

So here are Carter’s questions:  What type of sea turtle is this, how often do they surface for air and how large do they typically get?  Also, tell us what manmade item that ends up floating in the seas is responsible for many of their deaths because these guys mistake it for one of their favorite food items and eat it.

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations goes out to Natalie for being the first with the correct answers.  The sea turtle we featured is the Loggerhead and they can in fact weigh as much as 1,000-lbs although their average weight is more like 350-lbs.  Loggerheads spend up to 85% of their day submerged, with males being the more active divers than females. The average duration of dives is 15–30 minutes, but they can stay submerged for up to four hours.

And if you thought your day was tough, check this out; Nearly 24,000 metric tons of plastic is dumped into the ocean each year. Turtles ingest a wide array of this floating debris, including plastic bags, plastic sheets, plastic pellets, balloons and abandoned fishing line.[73] Loggerheads may mistake the floating plastic for jellyfish, a common food item. The ingested plastic causes numerous health concerns including: intestinal blockage, reduced nutrient absorption, suffocation, ulcerations, malnutrition or starvation. Ingested plastics release toxic compounds, including polychlorinated biphenyls, which may accumulate in internal tissues. Such toxins may lead to a thinning of eggshells, tissue damage or deviation from natural behaviors.

In America, it is estimated that we consume (use) up to 1-million single use plastic bags every minute.  The average shopper uses 500 single use plastic bag each year.  It has been estimated that over a million birds and 100,000 marine animals, including mammals and turtles, die each year from plastic debris.

It is for this exact reason that OMG founders Carter and Olivia have decided to form a “Say No to Plastic Bags” coalition. The coalition will be made up of various groups both local and national who are dedicated to helping raise awareness about the increasing problem of Single Use Shopping Bags on our environment, and on countless birds and marine animals.

If your interested in helping us create a Plastic Bag Fee program in your community, please contact us at the email address listed at the top of the page. We have purchased the movie rights to show the “Bag-It” movie and are currently working with various groups on scheduling public viewings throughout the greater Atlanta area. We are available to meet with all Council Members, Mayors, and County Commissioners etc who might be interested in speaking with us to discuss the various options of making their community “Bag Free”.

Here’s more on these guys: Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Thanks for caring and and for playing along 😉