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Bags and balloons: NGO documents plastic pollution choking sea life

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A dead manatee in Florida was found to have swallowed so many plastic bags they formed a cantaloupe-sized ball in its stomach, while a baby turtle had its intestines perforated by tiny plastic fragments.

They are some of 1,800 marine mammals and turtles found to have ingested or been entangled by plastic along American coastlines since 2009, according to a report from conservation NGO Oceana published Thursday.

Environmental degradation of the oceans caused by human activity
Environmental degradation of the oceans caused by human activity
John SAEKI, AFP

The group's report attempts to describe the cumulative impact of plastic pollution on marine fauna in the United States in the last decade, despite growing recycling practices.

Researchers found the most-ingested objects found were fishing line, plastic sheeting, bags, balloons and food wrappers, while packing straps, bags and balloons with ribbon were most responsible for entanglement incidents.

A small turtle in Florida has its head ensnared by a piece of plastic
A small turtle in Florida has its head ensnared by a piece of plastic
Handout, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center Inc/AFP/File

More than 900 species, including birds and fish, are affected, many of which are found on endangered or threatened lists, according to Oceana.

US laws require such incidents to be recorded when possible, but Oceana found the data was apparently not compiled until the NGO itself started asking public agencies to do the work.

- 'Suffocated by plastic' -

"There are many more cases that probably weren't observed or recorded," the study's lead author and Oceana scientist Kimberly Warner told AFP.

A dead sperm whale that washed ashore  had nearly six kilograms (13.2 lbs) of plastic waste in its s...
A dead sperm whale that washed ashore had nearly six kilograms (13.2 lbs) of plastic waste in its stomach, in Wakatobi National Park in Indonesia in 2018
La Ode M. Saleh Hanan, AFP/File

But even though it is not exhaustive, the group still hopes the report can help to change people's behavior.

"This is a problem on our shores, and it should be a catalyst to get people to act now to stem the tide of plastic going into the ocean," Warner said.

Among the turtles found to have ingested plastic, 20 percent were babies.

"Just moments after they break in their shell, on their first journey to the ocean, they're already eating plastic that is on our beaches," Warner said.

A bird stands on a  beach covered with trash in Hann Bay in Dakar  Senegal
A bird stands on a beach covered with trash in Hann Bay in Dakar, Senegal
SEYLLOU, AFP/File

Internal blockages caused by the plastic can prevent animals from being able to eat, which is often what ends up ultimately killing them.

Sometimes a ring of plastic gets caught around their necks and as they grow bigger they slowly suffocate.

"They can end up constricting or cutting off their airway so that they can't breathe," Warner explained.

"And sometimes the weight of things that are entangling animals doesn't allow them to go to the surface to breathe."

Fish swim among garbage dumped in the Matias Hernandez River in Costa del Este  Panama City
Fish swim among garbage dumped in the Matias Hernandez River in Costa del Este, Panama City
Luis ACOSTA, AFP/File

It is difficult to establish which sources of plastic contribute the most: from single-use items blown from beaches into the water to poorly sealed landfills and exported waste that falls from ships -- there are lots of ways for this pollution to end up in the ocean.

The solution likely lies at better management of those three issues, but also further up the plastic waste chain, at reducing our own dependence on and consumption of plastic products.

"Companies have wrapped everything in plastic now," Warner said.

A dead manatee in Florida was found to have swallowed so many plastic bags they formed a cantaloupe-sized ball in its stomach, while a baby turtle had its intestines perforated by tiny plastic fragments.

They are some of 1,800 marine mammals and turtles found to have ingested or been entangled by plastic along American coastlines since 2009, according to a report from conservation NGO Oceana published Thursday.

Environmental degradation of the oceans caused by human activity

Environmental degradation of the oceans caused by human activity
John SAEKI, AFP

The group’s report attempts to describe the cumulative impact of plastic pollution on marine fauna in the United States in the last decade, despite growing recycling practices.

Researchers found the most-ingested objects found were fishing line, plastic sheeting, bags, balloons and food wrappers, while packing straps, bags and balloons with ribbon were most responsible for entanglement incidents.

A small turtle in Florida has its head ensnared by a piece of plastic

A small turtle in Florida has its head ensnared by a piece of plastic
Handout, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center Inc/AFP/File

More than 900 species, including birds and fish, are affected, many of which are found on endangered or threatened lists, according to Oceana.

US laws require such incidents to be recorded when possible, but Oceana found the data was apparently not compiled until the NGO itself started asking public agencies to do the work.

– ‘Suffocated by plastic’ –

“There are many more cases that probably weren’t observed or recorded,” the study’s lead author and Oceana scientist Kimberly Warner told AFP.

A dead sperm whale that washed ashore  had nearly six kilograms (13.2 lbs) of plastic waste in its s...

A dead sperm whale that washed ashore had nearly six kilograms (13.2 lbs) of plastic waste in its stomach, in Wakatobi National Park in Indonesia in 2018
La Ode M. Saleh Hanan, AFP/File

But even though it is not exhaustive, the group still hopes the report can help to change people’s behavior.

“This is a problem on our shores, and it should be a catalyst to get people to act now to stem the tide of plastic going into the ocean,” Warner said.

Among the turtles found to have ingested plastic, 20 percent were babies.

“Just moments after they break in their shell, on their first journey to the ocean, they’re already eating plastic that is on our beaches,” Warner said.

A bird stands on a  beach covered with trash in Hann Bay in Dakar  Senegal

A bird stands on a beach covered with trash in Hann Bay in Dakar, Senegal
SEYLLOU, AFP/File

Internal blockages caused by the plastic can prevent animals from being able to eat, which is often what ends up ultimately killing them.

Sometimes a ring of plastic gets caught around their necks and as they grow bigger they slowly suffocate.

“They can end up constricting or cutting off their airway so that they can’t breathe,” Warner explained.

“And sometimes the weight of things that are entangling animals doesn’t allow them to go to the surface to breathe.”

Fish swim among garbage dumped in the Matias Hernandez River in Costa del Este  Panama City

Fish swim among garbage dumped in the Matias Hernandez River in Costa del Este, Panama City
Luis ACOSTA, AFP/File

It is difficult to establish which sources of plastic contribute the most: from single-use items blown from beaches into the water to poorly sealed landfills and exported waste that falls from ships — there are lots of ways for this pollution to end up in the ocean.

The solution likely lies at better management of those three issues, but also further up the plastic waste chain, at reducing our own dependence on and consumption of plastic products.

“Companies have wrapped everything in plastic now,” Warner said.

AFP
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With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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