Approximately 85% of sea turtles in European waters have waste in their stomachs.

Omissions

• The exact figure (approximately 85%) does not appear in any source found; the sources confirm that plastic ingestion by Mediterranean/European sea turtles is widespread, not the specific 85% magnitude.
• Peer-reviewed data measure different indicators (macroplastic ≥ 5 mm, frequency of occurrence, single species, sub-regional sampling), so they cannot directly confirm or refute a claim about 'waste in stomachs' of all sea turtles in EU waters.
• The claim does not specify a time period, species or the definition of 'waste' (plastic only vs. all anthropogenic debris), making the stated share impossible to pin down.
• A figure of around 80% of Mediterranean loggerhead turtles having ingested plastic is widely repeated in NGO and media material; the MEP may be paraphrasing such a figure, but no primary official statistic (Eurostat, EEA, European Commission, UNEP/MAP) publishing an 85% value was located within the search budget.
• No primary official source (EEA, European Commission, UNEP/MAP, national statistics offices) with a harmonised EU-wide sea turtle ingestion rate was found; such a statistic appears not to exist.

Sources

• AcademicDuncan et al., 'Marine turtles as bio-indicators of plastic pollution in the eastern Mediterranean', Marine Pollution Bulletin'Here, we present data from loggerhead turtles (2012-2022; n = 131) of which 42.7 % (n = 57) had ingested macroplastic (pieces ≥ 5 mm). Frequency of occurrence ...'
• SecondaryWWF Germany — 'Wie Plastikmüll sich auf die Vielfalt der Meerestiere auswirkt''Weltweit stirbt jede fünfte Meeresschildkröte an Plastik · 30 bis 40 Prozent aller sieben Meeresschildkrötenarten sind davon betroffen · 90 Prozent der Grünen ...'
• TertiaryDiveSSI blog — 'The Mediterranean Sea: a focal point for plastic pollution''All sea turtle species living in the Mediterranean have taken up plastics. Up to 150 plastic fragments were found in the stomachs of some animals.'