Bloody beach scene as 30 sea turtles are found stabbed to death on remote island

The unnamed suspect told the local fisherman's co-op that turtles got caught in his fishing nets and he grew frustrated trying to untangle them

Green sea turtles, dozens of which were found dead or dying from stab wounds, on a beach on the remote island of Kumejima (sr (

Image: Kumejima Umigame-kan/AFP via Get)

A Japanese fisherman has admitted to stabbing tons of protected sea turtles to death after swimmers stumbled upon the horrifying scene.

Between 30 and 50 green sea turtles were found dead or dying with stab wounds to their necks on a beach on the remote island of Kumejima last Thursday.

Today local authorities expressed anguish over the incident and said they had found the perpetrator but did not name the individual.

The unnamed suspect told the local fishing co-op that the turtles had been caught in his fishing nets and he had become frustrated trying to untangle them.

He said he released a lot of sea creatures, but after struggling for so long, he started stabbing them to try and weaken them.

Green sea turtle swimming above a coral reef underwater (

Picture:

Getty Images)

Yoshimitsu Tsukakoshi, a senior official with local sea turtle conservation organization Kumejima Umigame-kan, told Japan's national daily The Mainichi that it was "an extremely gruesome scene".

Police are reportedly investigating the deaths, but a source declined to say whether the fisherman could be punished.

Mr. Tsukakoshi was outraged by the fisherman's outburst, saying turtles are such gentle creatures and he couldn't believe what happened.

Yuji Tabata, the head of the cooperative, explained the situation and claimed that the fisherman had never seen so many turtles on his nets but now regrets his actions.