16 dead turtles found on beach

D.C. de Silva, Kahawa special corr.

Sixteen sea-turtles died in deep seas, recently came ashore on the Kosgoda beach, and the residents nearby buried them all, it is reported from Kosgoda.

The dead turtles had washed ashore within a period of one week, residents said. There are five species of turtles endemic to Sri Lanka and one of those dead, was a 'Dara Kesbewa' it said, that it belonged to a very rare species.

Those turtles were never killed, in the seas near Kosgoda, because there are a few Turtle Conservation Centres functioning in the area, Kosgoda, residents said. The deaths may be due to the entanglement of the turtles in the nets, spread by the deep-sea fishing boats, residents claimed.

Turtles are a species faced with extinction, and as such the matter should be addressed by the responsible authorities the Sunday Observer can point out.