Marine, Debris & Me
What am I eating for dinner? Plastics?!
Do you know that marine debris can present a danger to human health?
Marine Debris & Life
Fact Sheets
Marine debris - plastics, metals, glass, and other solid waste materials that enter the ocean environment - can be found virtually everywhere in the ocean.
> 275 animal species are affected by marine debris.
Marine plastic pollution has affected species worldwide through ingestion, starvation, suffocation, infection, drowning, and entanglement.
Birds, fish, and mammals can mistake plastic for food.
245 species have been found to have ingested marine debris. Debris may cause choking and injuries, and with plastic filling their stomachs, animals may have a false feeling of being full and may die of starvation.
More species are affected than you can imagine.
Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, one of their favorite foods. Even gray whales have been found dead with plastic bags and sheeting in their stomachs.
Marine debris bring invasive species to your homeland.
Floating marine debris can provide a new and increased method of transport for species across vast ocean distances causing trouble for biodiversity if the introduced species prove to be invasive.
Surface marine debris is just a tip of the iceberg.
Marine debris is not just an issue for the surface of the ocean. Debris is also found on the deep ocean floor.
You are what you eat.
More than a quarter of all fish now contain plastic, including those that we consume as seafood.