Impacts of common items on the ocean
How marine debris impacts the ocean
Marine debris comes in all shapes and sizes. It doesn't just consist of single-use items either. Here is a summary of the impacts marine debris has (in no particular order):
Click on the pictures below to read the captions.
Marine debris comes in all shapes and sizes. It doesn't just consist of single-use items either. Here is a summary of the impacts marine debris has (in no particular order):
- Habitat destruction: Corals cannot support the weight of discarded trash thus causing them to break. Other environments that house sea life can be impacted by trash being in the way.
- Animal entanglement/ghostfishing: Ghostfishing is a term that refers to improperly disposed fishing gear that unintentionally fishes wildlife. It can lead to bycatch and even entanglement causing severe wounds in animals caught in neglected nets and trash.
- Ingestion: Animals, such as sea turtles, cannot distinguish the difference between food and trash. In many cases these animals that eat trash think that their bellies are physically full but really their stomachs are nutritionally empty causing death by starvation. Additionally, plastics can absorb toxins within its surroundings so when an animal eats it, the toxins then contaminate its body.
- Invasive species: Some organisms thrive exceptionally well on floating trash. It is thought that the slow movement of trash drifting across the ocean allows an organism to adapt to the changing water conditions, making it a potential threat to a new habitat it becomes introduced to.
- Shipping hazards: Discarded material in the ocean can cause damage to ships passing by jamming up the propellers or affecting intake of water. This complication also applies to recreational vessels like boats and jet skis.
- Economic loss: Seeing garbage washed on shore would make for some pretty low ratings. This is problematic for some countries that rely on tourism for business while other communities may rely on the declining fisheries associated with coastal environments being suffocated by trash.
- Humans: Traces of microplastic and microfibers are being found in seafood that humans often consume. Even the contaminated fish described above will become a dish in a restaurant.
Click on the pictures below to read the captions.
Why don’t I show pictures of trash-ridden oceans and call it quits? Because you’ve likely seen it on social media or in the news. If you are the select few that have great self-discipline to avoid both social networking sites and news, you might have missed images of animals caught in six-pack soda rings. Regardless of your online presence status, showing you pictures of the oceanic catastrophe may or may not affect you because you aren’t exposed to those ghastly conditions and it's likely that you haven't seen the effects in person. You have, however, seen the excessive packaging in stores or ordered cheap take-out but just may not have connected the dots that what you see and do on land impacts what happens in the middle of the ocean.