The dead turtles were already in a state of decomposition.
El Salvador’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) announced in a tweet November 2 that 300 to 400 dead sea turtles were found floating off the country’s Pacific coastline.
The dead reptiles were first spotted about 13 km offshore from Jiquilisco Bay,which is about 110 km from San Salvador, the country’s capital.
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The MARN said that the majority of the turtles were already in a state of decomposition when they were found.
"We don't know what caused the sea turtles' death," MARN said. The species of turtle was also not disclosed.
Officials with MARN will conduct tissue analysis on the dead reptiles in an effort to determine what killed them. The last mass die off of sea turtles in the area occurred in 2013 when hundreds of sea turtles were found dead on beaches of Central American countries. At the time, it was suspected that a neurotoxin produced by algae during red tides killed off the sea turtles.
