One of the most deadly kinds of trash that enters our ocean is plastic. Plastic unlike paper and cloth takes 400 years to biodegrade, and often sits on top of the water. Some of the common plastic that enters the ocean is plastic bags, plastic pellets, and drifting nets. These three things have very different effects on different animals. Plastic bags can appear to sea animals like sea turtles as jellyfish and when they go to eat them the bags can clog their intestines depriving their bodies of basic nutrients and eventually killing them. Plastic pellets appear as fish eggs floating on top of the water. Birds in turn will dive for and eat the pellets. Birds can also get caught in the drifting nets. Fisherman to catch fish uses drifting nets. When birds get caught up in them they can either starve to death or drown. When birds are caught in the nets and cut free this can create new problems. The bird could get caught in a tree or their legs and wings can get stuck. Mammals like seals and whales sometimes play with plastic. This can create huge gashes in their flesh, which they can die from. Seals often get the plastic stuck on their necks, which can cause strangulation. As you can see trash in the ocean can create severe consequences for the marine wildlife. So next time you think about throwing your trash out just remember there are other animals out there that could greatly suffer.
http://www.whoi.edu/science/B/people/kamaral/plasticsarticle.html
I can see how harmful the effects of plastic on the ocean are, is there anyone trying to regulate and clean the ocean of trash? Are there any groups set up that are patrolling the ocean and cleaning up plastics they find?
ReplyDeleteAre there any eco-friendly plastic option that are bio-degradable? And what would be a good way to get rid of all the plastic in there now, without further harming the environment?
ReplyDeleteI never knew how much the sea animals saw these plastic items as eggs and other animals. How many animals per year die due to some kind of interaction with plastic items?
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic. I've actually heard that there are huge islands the size of Texas of plastic trash in the pacific. This obviously should be a concern to all humans seeing as how we ultimately depend on the ocean we are destroying
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brendan , we need to clean up and better protect our oceans so less problems are caused in the future.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting that sea animals and birds sea trash as animals or food floating in the ocean. Its pretty astonishing how harmful a simple piece of plastic is towards an animal.
ReplyDeleteWe are trying to reduce the amount of plastic and keep it contained but we need to still work on it more because it has to do with other lives. What other ways can we get out to the world to stop doing this or at least reduce it?
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