Abstract:
The southern coastal area of Sri Lanka provides ideal habitats for nesting of Green sea turtle
(Chelonia mydas), Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricate),
Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles. The increase of
coastal macro debris is negatively affecting a wide range of marine organisms including sea turtles.
Any type of natural or synthesized solid waste materials that remain in the coastal area are referred
to as coastal debris. Entanglement, ingestion, reduction of crawling speed and release of chemical
contaminants are some of the negative effects of coastal macro debris on the health of sea turtles.
Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the presence of coastal macro debris at selected
turtle nesting beaches along the Southern coast of Sri Lanka during the period from February to May
2022. Random plot sampling method was employed at Palatupana, Godawaya, Ussangoda,
Kalametiya, Rekawa, Mirissa, Habaraduwa and Kosgoda and the macro debris were classified under
the categories, wood, glass, macro plastic, styrofoam, metal, rubber, fishing material and cloth. Five
plots (100m×30m) were surveyed for each selected beach and macro-debris densities (g/m2) were
calculated. Habaraduwa was identified as the highest polluted beach (9.05g/m2) among the beaches
studied and the least polluted beach was Mirissa (0.43g/m2). The Friedman test recorded no
significant difference (P<0.05) between the types of debris found and the debris density of the
nesting sites. The questionnaire survey indicated that the beach cleaning programmes could be the
prominent reason for non-significant difference of the debris densities between the nesting sites.
According to the survey, the lack of significant difference between debris types of various nesting
sites was due to common anthropogenic activities, prominently garbage dumpin
