Garbage in the Ocean: What should we do?
3 Comments Published by CBEMN on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 at 3:23 PM.
Greenpeace activists aboard a ship off Hawaii have been retrieving old toothbrushes, beach toys, golf balls and even used condoms from a vast vortex of plastic trash in the Pacific Ocean that threatens sea creatures that get tangled in it, eat it or ride on it.
Because plastic doesn’t break down the way organic material does, ocean currents and tides have carried it thousands of miles to an area between Hawaii and the West Coast.
This swirling vortex, which has been documented for years and can grow to be about the size of Texas, is not far from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, designated as a protected U.S. national monument in June by President Bush.
In a new report, Greenpeace said at least 267 species -- including seabirds, turtles, seals, sea lions, whales and fish -- are known to have suffered from entanglement or ingestion of marine debris. Some 80 percent of this debris comes from land and 20 percent from the oceans, the report said, with four main sources: tourism, sewage, fishing and waste from ships and boats.
The report comes days after a report in the journal Science projected that Earth’s stocks of fish and seafood would collapse by 2050 if trends in overfishing and pollution continue.
Plastic pollution is a problem in all the world’s oceans, the Greenpeace report said, but underlined the issue in the Pacific by sailing through the floating garbage dump and capturing images of wildlife interacting with plastic. “It’s not necessarily an area that’s clearly defined; it’s sort of a natural phenomenon ... wind and salt water break down the plastic,” said Steve Smith from aboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza.
The plastic trash, some in large pieces and others broken down to small but recognizable particles, is visible from the ship’s deck, Smith said by telephone. Inflatable boats are dispatched from the ship to collect samples. “We’ve been been unfortunately finding a lot of stuff out here, floating by, which doesn’t paint a very good picture, because some of it is from faraway places, has marine life like barnacles and other little creatures living on the plastic,” Smith said.
By hitching rides on plastic debris, invasive species can be carried thousands of miles to interact with native creatures, Smith said. Plastic also poses a hazard to animals that mistake it for prey and eat it, he said. “Plastics in the oceans act as a toxic sponge, soaking up a lot of the persistent pollutants out here,” Smith said. “We’ve seen photos of albatrosses who eat this plastic ... Even though their stomachs are filled, they end up starving because there’s no nutrients in there.”
Discarded or lost fishing nets and traps can continue to catch fish when they are no longer in use, the report said.
The report said an international agreement known as MARPOL is aimed at ending the dumping of plastic debris at sea, but noted that since most debris originates on land, even total enforcement of this agreement would not eliminate the problem. Greenpeace called for a global network of marine reserves, covering 40 percent of the world’s oceans, and responsibility by coastal countries to cut down on “excessive consumption” and boost recycling.
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Because plastic doesn’t break down the way organic material does, ocean currents and tides have carried it thousands of miles to an area between Hawaii and the West Coast.
This swirling vortex, which has been documented for years and can grow to be about the size of Texas, is not far from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, designated as a protected U.S. national monument in June by President Bush.
In a new report, Greenpeace said at least 267 species -- including seabirds, turtles, seals, sea lions, whales and fish -- are known to have suffered from entanglement or ingestion of marine debris. Some 80 percent of this debris comes from land and 20 percent from the oceans, the report said, with four main sources: tourism, sewage, fishing and waste from ships and boats.
The report comes days after a report in the journal Science projected that Earth’s stocks of fish and seafood would collapse by 2050 if trends in overfishing and pollution continue.
Plastic pollution is a problem in all the world’s oceans, the Greenpeace report said, but underlined the issue in the Pacific by sailing through the floating garbage dump and capturing images of wildlife interacting with plastic. “It’s not necessarily an area that’s clearly defined; it’s sort of a natural phenomenon ... wind and salt water break down the plastic,” said Steve Smith from aboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza.
The plastic trash, some in large pieces and others broken down to small but recognizable particles, is visible from the ship’s deck, Smith said by telephone. Inflatable boats are dispatched from the ship to collect samples. “We’ve been been unfortunately finding a lot of stuff out here, floating by, which doesn’t paint a very good picture, because some of it is from faraway places, has marine life like barnacles and other little creatures living on the plastic,” Smith said.
By hitching rides on plastic debris, invasive species can be carried thousands of miles to interact with native creatures, Smith said. Plastic also poses a hazard to animals that mistake it for prey and eat it, he said. “Plastics in the oceans act as a toxic sponge, soaking up a lot of the persistent pollutants out here,” Smith said. “We’ve seen photos of albatrosses who eat this plastic ... Even though their stomachs are filled, they end up starving because there’s no nutrients in there.”
Discarded or lost fishing nets and traps can continue to catch fish when they are no longer in use, the report said.
The report said an international agreement known as MARPOL is aimed at ending the dumping of plastic debris at sea, but noted that since most debris originates on land, even total enforcement of this agreement would not eliminate the problem. Greenpeace called for a global network of marine reserves, covering 40 percent of the world’s oceans, and responsibility by coastal countries to cut down on “excessive consumption” and boost recycling.
Click for related content:
Take a survey on ocean attitudes
Threats to Earth's oceans
I read a Texas beach cleanup report and they pie charted the most common pollutants found. Plastics were number one, but only because cigarette butts were disqualified. They were so numerous that if they were included in the analysis they would "distort the data".
I don't think it is right that people think the ocean is a garbage can and start dumping wastes in it thinking it will just dissolve and have no effect. I think governments and other agencies need to start coming up with other alternatives to deal with waste.
as a general rule the average person will not throw garbage into the ocean. the average person knows that this is wrong and will refrain from doing it. But what is more likely is that people will liter on the land with the idea that it will be picked up at one point. what most of these people don't know is that much of that garbage will make it to the ocean and cause harm there. therefore the best solution for this is the knowledge and understanding for an average person