PRIMITIVE COELACANTH ARE EATING PLASTIC DEBRIS IN INDONESIA
A coelacanth was found dead off the coast of Indonesia with a plastic wrap from Lay’s potato chips inside its guts. The image was originally taken in 2016 by an Indonesian fisherman, but recently was shared by Blue Planet Society on Twitter. This is the first report of marine debris ingestion by coelacanth, and despite this coelacanth was found dead, there is no certainty if the plastic wrap was involved in the decease.
The Indonesian coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis), one of two living species of coelacanth, is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. There are around 10,000 mature individuals remain in the wild. Although they have no value as food, they are extremely susceptible to bycatch by deep sea fishermen.
This relationshiop between marine fauna and debris is not a surprise, since China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam,are spewing out as much as 60 percent of the plastic waste that enters the world’s seas.
Coelacanths were once believed to have gone extinct and were known for a long time only through fossils. In 1938, a living specimen was unexpectedly discovered in deep waters off South Africa. Coelacanth are opportunistic predator, meaning it will eat anything that crosses it's path while it hunts for food, living in deep waters at 150-200 m depth.
Photo via @Seasaver