2 Ways Plastic is Harming Marine Life + How You Can Help
Marine animal art by Washed Ashore made entirely from ocean plastic.
Plastic pollution is a hot topic right now. With videos showing up on your Facebook feed of divers swimming through loads of plastic, and pictures of a sea turtle-turned-unicorn by a plastic straw, I tend to think that everyone knows how big of a problem plastic in our environment is. But I’ve found that is not the case. I hope that this post will help make it really clear how marine animals such as sea turtles, fish, and dolphins are affected by plastic pollution, plus provide you with some ideas of how you can personally decrease your impact.
First of all, here are some facts to help put this all in perspective:
- According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), 100,000 marine mammals die from plastic pollution every year.
- Approximately 1 million sea birds die from plastic every year.
- 100,000 marine creatures a year die from plastic entanglement, and this count only includes the ones that are found.
- At least two-thirds of the world’s fish stocks are suffering from plastic ingestion.
- A plastic bag can kill numerous animals because they take so long to disintegrate. An animal that dies from the bag will decompose and the bag will be released, another animal could harmlessly fall victim and once again eat the same bag.
1. Ingestion
Many marine animals often mistake plastic floating in the ocean for food. Take sea turtles for instance; jelly fish is a primary food source, but can’t tell the difference between a jelly and a floating plastic bag. Fish and other animals eat microplastics (0.3-5mm in size) without even realizing it because they are too small to see. Over time, plastic builds up in their stomachs creating a false sense of satiation (being satisfied, full). Animals die from starvation, poisoning, and disease all caused by plastic ingestion. Toxins from plastic particles can leach into the flesh of fish (which we eat), and can cause the animal to contract a disease or become poisoned. This poses a health risk to not only marine life, but also humans who eat seafood. The higher up in the food chain a fish is, the greater levels of toxins it will have. If we eat that fish, we are the ultimate consumers of those toxins.
2. Entanglement
Marine animals are also harmed by plastic is entanglement. I’m sure you’ve seen a video on Facebook of a fisherman that was out on his boat and saw a whale tangled in a bunch of netting, so he cut it free. Large marine mammals such as whales and dolphins can get tangled up in abandoned fishing gear, causing them to: become immobile so they can’t hunt for food, leading to starvation; choke to death or constrict their airway enough that they can’t breathe or swallow food, also leading to starvation; and get dragged down below the depth range in which they inhabit, taking them out of their hunting grounds and down to temperatures they can’t survive in. Getting dragged down by large debris is especially dangerous for animals that require swimming to the surface to breathe through blow holes like whales and dolphins.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Say “No” to single-use plastics (plastic straws, plastic utensils, plastic cups, plastic shopping bags, etc.).
Reduce your plastic consumption. Simply put, just buy less stuff. And buy fewer items made of plastic.
Reuse, Reuse, Reuse. Make sure to use the plastic you do have to the full span of its life before throwing it away. If you really aren’t going to use it, try selling or donating it.
Recycle. Look for a recycling symbol on EVERYTHING before you throw it away. If it is recyclable, notice the number inside the recycling symbol. The greater the number, the lower quality plastic it is and the fewer times it can be subsequently recycled. For example, a 1 can be recycled more times than a 5 or a 6. Plastic, unlike glass, looses its integrity overtime it is recycled – often referred to as down-cycled.
Keep your neighborhood clean. Go for regular walks around your neighborhood. Not only is it good exercise, but you can pick up any trash you see lying around. Everyone wants to live in a nice, clean neighborhood, so do your part to keep it clean of litter.
Clean up your local beach (if you have one). Same goes for your local beach – nobody wants to go to the beach on a sunny day only to find a bunch of garbage littering the warm sand and salty water.
Sign up for clean-up volunteer events. Especially this time of year in Seattle, there are endless volunteer events that you can sign up for. Plan ahead and search for one on Facebook (hint: World Oceans Day is June 8th!), follow your favorite organization on social media to hear about events, and sign up with a friend. Even though I would be completely content picking up beach litter all day by myself, I still have more fun when I have company!
Spread the word and encourage everyone you know to do the same. Just like everything else that requires change, raising awareness about plastic pollution and sharing the ways people can help reduce their impact and help make up for the damage that has been done, is a huge way to make a difference.
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