Researchers remove a plastic straw from the nose of a sea turtle

“A group of marine biologists made the video on a boat in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and posted it on YouTube with the message: “‘NO’ TO PLASTIC STRAWS” alongside an appeal to fund PhD research into sea turtles.

Initially the researchers didn’t have a clue about the object lodged inside the nostril.

The poor turtle winces in pain, writhes in agony as the researchers struggle to pull the straw from his nostril.

At first they thought it was a worm but it turned out to be a plastic straw.

When they removed part of the large object they realised it was in fact a plastic straw.

She added: “This video shows why plastic rubbish is detrimental to marine life”. “Don’t tell me it’s a straw”, Figgener says.

But the bleeding stopped soon after the crude operation, and the researchers disinfected the nostril with iodine.

The turtle was left to recover and dressed with disinfectant before being released, hopefully to live a more comfortable existence.

Figgener commented on YouTube, “He [the turtle] obviously did not enjoy the procedure very much, but we hope that he is now able to breathe more freely”.

Ms Figgener explained the decision to remove it on the boat was not one that could have been avoided: “We were on the ocean a few hours away from the coast and several hours away from any vet and x-ray machines”. And to top it off, they would have incurred a penalty if they would have removed the turtle as it was beyond their research permits. The straw took minutes to remove, after removing the straw from the turtle’s air passageway the group disinfected it with iodine and kept him for observation until the bleeding stopped.

The amount of plastic dumped into the sea each year would fill five carrier bags for every foot of coastline on the planet, scientists have warned.