Intro

15 unfortunate things caused by plastic in the ocean.

If you don’t already know, then we are here to tell you that plastic is extremely destructive for the environment.

However, still the consumption of single-use plastic is higher than ever.

Did you know that since 1950, we have produced more than 8 billion tons of plastic?

If that wasn’t enough, beach litter around the world consists of 73 percent of plastic.

These are alarming figures and ones we need to consider before we consume plastic next time.

If you still don’t understand why plastic is a problem, then here are 15 unfortunate things caused by plastic in the ocean.

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Death by 80 plastic bags

Number 15: death by 80 plastic bags.

Whales are under constant threats from humans.

Many of the species have also been hunted to the point of extinction.

Thanks to our greed.

Even now, our habits are gravely affecting the habitats and hunting patterns of whales.

Back in June 2018, 80 bags of plastic that weighed around eight kilograms were found inside the stomach of a whale.

This whale was discovered inside a canal and Sangla, a province in Thailand.

The emergency and medical teams gathered to provide treatment to the whale.

The effort to save it went on for five days.

However, in the end the whale died.

After that, the autopsy revealed that it had 80 plastic bags and many other plastic items inside its stomach.

The garbage made the whale sick and disrupted its hunting pattern because it cannot hunt for food.

The poor whale thought that the plastic rubbish was food and ended up ingesting it.

This is what we are doing to other species that are supposed to peacefully co-exist with us.

We are disrupting their food chains, killing their habitats, and we are also killing them.

This is just one example.

Mass demise of hermit crabs

There are many, countless examples of marine life dying because of plastic, though let’s move on to the next one number 14: mass demise of hermit crabs.

Our consumption and production habits have far-reaching effects, even to remote places.

The cocoas healing islands and Henderson island are both extremely remote, yet they are covered in plastic trash.

Researchers visit the island to conduct their studies and seeing trash is a normal occurrence.

However, on one of their trips, they noticed something that worried them deeply.

They saw that many plastic containers on the island were not empty.

These containers had dead hermit crabs inside them.

After seeing this, they conducted a proper study and found that on Coco’s island at least five hundred thousand hermit crabs were killed by plastic.

On the other hand, at Henderson Island there were more than sixty thousand dead hermit crabs due to plastic pollution.

Our plastic debris includes bottles, containers, wrappers and much more.

When this debris ends up on the islands, they become the perfect traps for crabs who wander inside this debris looking for food.

Once they get trapped, they can’t come out because plastic is extremely slippery for them, though they get trapped inside and eventually they die because they have no way of getting out.

During this research, a plastic container was found and that container alone just had more than 500 dead crabs.

Tangled seals

Because of this plastic problem, there are now half a million fewer hermit crabs left on Coco’s island number 13.. tangled seals.

In 2019, the footage was released where a kayaker in Namibia released many seals after they were tangled in nets and plastic rubbish.

The point of this video was not to show off his heroic act, but make people aware of the problem.

Plastic poses deals are extremely friendly, as they are sometimes even called puppies of the ocean.

Just like puppies, they are playful and curious, though naturally they get drawn to things they haven’t seen before.

Due to this playful and curious nature, they get caught in things they shouldn’t be.

However, the kayaker now Dryer saved more than 600 seals from plastic rubbish.

Thumb seals had only been caught in the nets, however.

Many of them were injured as well.

The net slices through their necks and cuts it deeply, creating an injury that needs to be looked after as soon as possible.

Most of these seals were caught in gill nets that are illegal in Namibia but still used by hunters.

They are also dumped by ships that are crossing the ocean.

This is why it has become more important than ever to think about our waste management.

We need to find better ways to dispose our rubbish, because if we continue to bloop the ocean, then many species will be at risk of extinction and soon we won’t even have a beautiful ocean or an amazing diversity of marine life that we take for granted.

The poor beagle shark named Destiny

Number 12: the poor beagle shark named destiny.

Yes, darks are dangerous and scary, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to live in peace.

However, human interference has cost many sharks their lives.

A marine scientist named James Solowski discovered a seven feet long poor beagle shark off the coast of Maine.

The poor shark was almost beheaded because of a plastic ring that got stuck around its neck ever since she was a baby.

Of course, as she grew up, her neck got bigger and the plastic ring started cutting into her flesh.

If solikowski and his researchers had not saved the poor shark at the time, he would have died.

They cut the plastic ring from her neck and tended to her wounds.

After that, they also attached a tag to her fin.

This way they could keep track of her movements to ensure if she is making a recovery or not.

A while later, they were happy to report that the shark was a survivor and made a full recovery after the horrific incident.

They also named her destiny because she survived the odds.

This is the danger of dumping plastic in the sea without any awareness.

It causes fish and other marine life to get stuck in this rubbish.

The worst part is that because they can’t help themselves, they have to rely on the humans who harm them to eventually save them from their misery.

Octopus stuck in a plastic cup

Number 11.. octopus stuck in a plastic cup.

A video by diver Paul Sigurdsson was shot in 2018 that showed a veined octopus taking shelter in a plastic cup.

These octopuses are known for taking shelter in shells and other items that they find in the sea.

However, this octopus took refuge in an unlikely place.

Due to this, he was stuck inside the plastic cup once he went in.

Of course, the divers couldn’t leave the octopus like this.

They searched for a long time to find the perfect shell where the octopus could take refuge safely.

They found many shells and they show the octopus each one.

However, it was reluctant at first.

Finally, with some encouragement from the divers, the octopus got out of the plastic cup and went into the shell he thought was perfect for him.

This is normal behavior because veined or coconut octopuses are extremely picky when it comes to their shells.

They try on many before they find the perfect one they can take shelter in.

Paul Sigurdsson and his team helped the tiny octopus to get out of the plastic cup and into the protective shell.

This video received over 11 million views.

It highlights the problem of marine life taking refuge in unlikely places and getting stuck because of it.

Horse swimming with a cotton swab

They don’t have the consciousness to differentiate between plastic and other things in the sea, and this eventually leads them to be trapped in harmful objects

Number 10.. the horse swimming with a cotton swab.

Q-tips are also one big problem in the ocean.

They contribute significantly to the amount of single-use plastic items that we dump away in the ocean.

They are unnecessary and we can simply switch to bamboo swabs instead.

Photographer Justin Hoffman took an image of a seahorse clinging onto a q-tip in the ocean.

He photographed this image while leading an expectation through borneo.

The horses are small and they need some support while riding ocean currents.

This is why they cling to floating objects with their tails so that they can ride these currents.

This little creature found a cotton swab and clung to it.

However, this is just one instance of how marine life turns to our debris for refuge, because we have polluted the ocean to its extremes by now.

This is an example of how marine life comes to interact with plastic.

These plastic pieces are found everywhere, from the deep sea to far away remote islands.

Hoffman also explained that the ocean was filled with trash and made the environment smell.

This picture should be a reminder of the kind of footprint we are leaving on our planet.

This is how we are affecting other ecosystems and soon it will be too late to save our planet.

Hops rescue seal trapped in plastic

Number: nine: hops rescue seal trapped in plastic.

In Washington State in January 2019, two cops were filmed saving a seal that was trapped in plastic on Washington State Beach.

This plastic wrap was a fishing net that the seal got tangled in.

As soon as they spotted this seal, Sergeant Kyle was the first one to start taking action and save this feel from the traps of the net.

He immediately started cutting through the net and his partner, Chris Elia, held the net away from the seal.

This was done to make sure that the seal doesn’t get tangled in the net again.

As he was cutting through the net, the sergeant kept on reassuring the seal.

Cutting the net from the neck was the hardest part.

Elia had to use a catch bowl to keep the head of the seal down.

As he did this Watson cut the net so the neck of the seal could be free.

As soon as it was free, the seal rushed back into the ocean where it found comfort, safety and shelter.

These incidents are increasing by the day where the poor sea animals are trapped in our garbage.

Many seals have been trapped in plastic nets or ingested plastic debris due to our waste.

This is why we need better ways to leave a lower footprint on our environments.

Whale died due to 40 kilograms of plastic

Number eight: whale died due to 40 kilograms of plastic- another horrific incident of a whale dying due to the consumption of plastic.

A young whale died in the philippines and once the autopsy was done it was revealed that it died because of 40 kilograms of plastic bags inside its stomach.

Imagine the amount of plastic bags it consumed, because one plastic bag weighs nothing.

40 kilograms is too much even for a whale.

The whale has lost a shore and, taken by a museum, they found four banana plantation style bags, multiple shopping bags, 16 rice sacks and 40 kilograms of plastic bags inside the stomach of the whale.

The Autopsy performed on the whale revealed that it died of a gastric shock because of all the plastic bags inside its body.

According to the biologists at the museum, they have never seen so much plastic inside a whale in the history of their career.

This goes to show how our actions have a chain reaction that leads to unfortunate events in the ocean.

These events are not natural and certainly should not be happening in the first place.

No species on earth is meant to ingest plastic.

It is harmful and it is destructive to the planet and all the beings on it.

Baby Dolphin Thanks Fisherman

Number seven: baby dolphin.

Thanks fisherman.

Seven years ago, in 2013, brazilian fishermen rescued a baby dolphin off the coast of Sao Paulo.

The life of the dolphin was in danger because it was trapped inside a plastic bag.

They used a net to first take the dolphin out of the water and keep it in the boat.

Once it was in the boat, they removed the plastic bag safely so the dolphin can move freely again.

The poor mammal was stuck inside a green plastic bag.

Once the bag was removed, the dolphin went back in the water.

However, the most amazing thing happened.

Once they set it free, the dolphin flipped out of the water and did a little waggle in an upright position.

The fishermen interpreted as a thank you dance for saving its life.

While this was a wholesome moment, in the end let’s not forget the tragedy because of which this took place.

Animals getting stuck in plastic bags or these plastics getting stuck inside their bodies is the worst thing to happen to them.

They need to rely on someone to come for help or they don’t survive for long.

These animals are the lucky ones that have caught the eye of fishermen or other people who have come to save them.

Manta Ray Swimming Along Trash

The rest are not so lucky number six: Manta Ray swimming along trash.

Countless videos keep on emerging that tell us about the intensity of the plastic pollution problem that we are facing right now.

The same way, another video surfaced that showed two manta rays at a popular diving site in Bali swimming along piles of trash.

This video was posted by an australian tourist, Lauren Jub.

The Manta Ray was not only floating among the garbage, but also feeding on it.

Apart from that, they also had plastic debris on their mouths and bodies while they were searching for food in the ocean.

A few weeks after this, another video was posted by a british diver on the same site.

His video also showed the same horrifying sight of the manta rays swimming between heaps of garbage.

The purpose was to highlight this issue so people can stop littering the ocean and think twice about plastic consumption.

The trash that goes from our homes can end up anywhere in the ocean.

Though this is a global issue, we all need to get behind and think twice before we dispose of our waste without any awareness as to where it goes.

Bali performs regular cleanups of its beaches, but there’s still trash that comes with the ocean currents from elsewhere.

The consequences have to be faced by the poor marine life that either ingests it or gets caught in it.

Plastic Bags Seagulls

Number five plastic bags and seagulls.

It is important to highlight the fact that plastic bag is not just an issue for marine life, but also the animals that feed on it.

One example of this is seagulls.

They are also facing major issues because of our need to throw away plastic bags in all the wrong places.

A photographer named Michael Windsor captured an image where a seagull had a plastic bag wrapped around its foot.

It was trying hard to get rid of the bag, but to no avail.

The photographer had followed the seagull, who thought it was being chased, and kept going ahead despite the bag shut wrapped tightly on its foot.

He chased the seagull till the end of the lake and saw that a bald eagle had its talons in the seagull.

Michael thought at the same time that the seagull wouldn’t be able to make it.

However, as soon as the seagull hit the water, the bag on his foot filled up with water.

The eagle couldn’t even lift the gold and the full bag at the same time, and so it saved the seagull.

That is when the seagull fought even more after the eagle left and it managed to get free of the plastic bag too.

This is the side that is less talked about and that we don’t see.

The problem is so big that it is not just the ocean life that is bearing its consequences.

Even animals who live mainly on land are dealing with the plastic problem that we have created.

The suffering of the whales

Number four: the suffering of the whales.

You may be wondering why animals inside the ocean even eat plastic in the first place.

However, it’s not their fault.

Whales are deep divers.

Although they need to return to the surface water to get some oxygen, they take time-sensitive dives deep in the ocean to look for food.

The problem is that place is now found in the deepest seas.

That is how much we are dumping.

So when whales dive and they can’t find another food source, they either end up eating the plastic, which causes problems in their stomachs, or they don’t eat at all and they end up starving.

This is why more and more whales are dying every year.

They are unable to digest the plastic and they clog their stomachs, though either way they die.

This is why we somehow need to reverse the dumping that we have done and stop dumping in the ocean in the future.

If this goes on, then mass food chains in the ocean will be affected.

This will cause the extinction of many species and the ocean will be filled with more plastic than fish.

Of course, it should be the other way around.

Instead, we have to end the suffering of whales and many other ocean animals.

Albatross under threat

Number three: albatross under threat.

These are beautiful birds that prey on marine life for their food needs.

However, because of the extreme plastic problem, there is too much debris in the sea due to this- they accidentally pick up plastic that they end up feeding to their chicks.

This is a major problem because, even though adult albatross can still regurgitate some of the plastic they have ingested, the chicks can’t do that.

They are helpless in this matter and they end up dying because of this.

There are many photos and videos you will find of dead albatross, chicks and their plastic diet that have ended up killing them.

All of this just goes to show our broken relationship with mother nature.

That is an extreme need of repair.

Albatrosses are among the endangered bird groups.

Already, out of the 22 species, 14 of them are faced with a threat of extinction, though of course, even losing a few of them is not good.

Whale shark close to extinction

Number two: whale shark close to extinction.

Have you ever thought a species would go to extinct?

Do the plastic we dump?

If the answer is no, then you need a reality check.

Whale sharks may just be the first species to go extinct in the ocean due to plastic pollution.

The whale shark is one of the largest fish on the planet and it is at risk of extinction due to the plastic pollution inside the ocean.

These fish are already classified as endangered.

Their migration pattern goes between islands too.

For example, it takes them through the island of Saint Helena.

This is an island that lies between Africa and South America.

This island is filled with debris because it has waste coming in from both these places.

Apart from this, the island also has an extremely small population of 4 500 people, so of course there are no efforts to clean up all the debris that comes here.

The plastic keeps on building upon this island.

The whale sharks mistake the plastic for plankton and end up sucking it all in.

There are only now less than 7 000 whale sharks that are left all over the world.

This number keeps on decreasing at a fast rate, though.

If we are unable to control the dumping of our waste, then the whale sharks will become extinct as a direct result of our plastic pollution.

Declining populations of sea turtles

Number one: declining populations of sea turtles.

Whale sharks are not the only ones that are under the threat of extinction.

Sea turtles are at a higher risk.

Every day, many turtles ingest plastic items that cut their guts or create gastric problems.

Some of them survive and some of them don’t make it.

This happens because they mistake plastic for a food source.

However, when they eat the plastic, it creates blockages in their digestive system.

This is why many populations of turtles have been rapidly declining.

Many of them have also been endangered, which is why steps are being taken to create sanctuaries for them so that they don’t go extinct.

More than fifty percent of sea turtles ingest plastic every day.

Almost all of them die because of it.

All of this just highlights the biggest problem that is facing our planet right now.

If we don’t come up with ways to manage our waste or reduce plastic consumption, then we’ll completely screw up the food chain, and who knows what’s going to happen?

Then all we know is that it isn’t going to be good.

And there you have it: 15 unfortunate things caused by plastic in the ocean.

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