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Comment and Environment

How a viral video made turtles the face of the ocean plastic crisis

A video of a turtle with a straw up its nose changed attitudes to plastic pollution around the world. But we must do more, says marine biologist Vanessa Bézy

By Vanessa Bézy

28 August 2024

×îÐÂÂé¶¹ÊÓÆµ. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Simone Rotella

Nine years ago, in August 2015, Christine Figgener posted a of her team removing a plastic straw from the nostril of a turtle. It went viral.

Christine is a friend of mine and fellow marine biologist. We have both conducted sea turtle research off the coast of Costa Rica, where her video was captured. It is emotional and disturbing – but for us this sort of occurrence is common. We regularly find turtles entangled in fishing gear, and I have seen turtles’ insides filled with plastic. What surprised all of us was how impactful the video would prove to be.…

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