The Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town received 214 posthatchling
loggerhead turtles (curved carapace lengths b 9 cm,
mass b 110 g) that stranded in the Western Cape from mid-March to
July 2015, with 95% coming ashore between False Bay (34° 10′S, 18°
28′E) and Arniston (34° 40′S, 20° 12′E) from 1 April to 15 May 2015.
Eight turtles died in transit and 36 died in captivity (Table 1). Most posthatchlings
that died (six in transit and 29 after 1–104 days in captivity)
were examined to determine the cause of death. Full necropsies were
performed and all organs examined, including the gastrointestinal (GI)
tract, which was opened up and the contents examined. Plastic items
and other anthropogenic debriswere recorded visually, and their presence
noted in the stomach, intestine, cloaca and bladder (Fig. 1). Debris from 12
of 21 individuals was retained, washed and dried (unfortunately plastic
from nine individuals was discarded before counting and measuring).
Frozen carcasses of a further 16 loggerhead turtle post-hatchlings that
died after stranding in the Eastern Cape during April–May 2015 were
obtained from Bayworld Oceanarium in Port Elizabeth. Their digestive
tracts were removed and the contents washed through a 300 μm sieve
to recover hard prey remains, including marine debris.