Leatherbacks,Balloons &Jellyfish

There are more sightings of helium balloon debris on and around Fishers Island then than I care to count,but I count them.

I see them entangled in shrubs or seaweed, deflated under coastal rocks, collapsed and buried under tidal sands, and bobbing eerily across both Island Sounds.

I used to be curious about their decorative messages or how far they had traveled.

I am not curious any more.

The endangered Leatherback Sea Turtle subsists largely on a jellyfish diet.

More and more of these sea turtles are mistaking floating helium balloon debris for jellyfish and fatally ingesting them.