A rescued turtle expelled plastic pollution that it had swallowed in the sea.

Turtle 919 was rescued and transported to the Turtle Hospital at the Oceanografic's Animal Recovery and Conservation Area (ARCA) for medical treatment in Valencia, Spain, on February 24.

Footage shows the sea creature swimming in a tank with a piece of plastic packaging protruding from its bottom on March 13.

This prompted hospital staff to carefully scoop up the turtle using a large net and assist in removing the debris it was struggling to expel.

Among the fragments identified were remnants of medicine wrappers, rubber pieces, and bottle caps.

The Oceanografic de Valencia said in a statement: 'The animal arrived at our ARCA del Mar with an air embolism caused by trawling.

'Weeks later, its caretakers detected several large plastic fragments in its faeces.

'Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. Such incidents are all too common among the turtles admitted to the ARCA del Mar of Fundacion Oceanografic, especially during their first weeks of recovery.

'We invite you to raise awareness of this issue. The more we know about the impact of plastics on the oceans, the more we can do to protect them,' they added.

Ghost nets, often discarded by fishing trawlers, are one of the biggest threats to marine life.

Strong ocean currents can carry ghost nets over long distances, eventually washing them ashore. Severe weather events can also dislodge ghost nets from the seabed or fishing vessels, causing them to drift and ultimately beach.

According to UNESCO's Facts & Figures on Marine Pollution, more than one million marine animals—including
mammals, fish, sharks, turtles, and birds—are killed each year due to plastic debris in the ocean. These animals can become entangled in meshes, leading to suffocation, starvation, injury, and death.

Ghost nets also damage delicate marine ecosystems like coral reefs and seagrass beds as they destroy these habitats, preventing the growth of new life.

A 2018 report published in Scientific Reports concluded that ghost nets account for at least 46 per cent of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. It is projected that by 2050, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

Lorin Hancock from the World Wildlife Fund said: 'Those abandoned fishing lines and nets that break down never truly go away; they just become smaller pieces of plastic.

'Marine animals mistake this microplastic for food and eat it, which can harm their internal organs, prevent proper feeding, and expose them to toxic chemicals.'