10 Facts About Ocean Pollution That You Need to Know
I recently went to the Philippines for family travel and we had the chance to island hop somewhere in the Visayas region of the country. The beaches here are totally fantastic! There are also several dive spots that won't disappoint newbie divers nor master divers.
Along the way, we were able to snorkel to one island where turtles are abundant. I should say, I was very happy to see that there are several sanctuaries in the area and really pushing to preserve these beautiful creatures.
On the way home, our guide decided to hop on to one more island and we were thrilled as our paid trip was supposed to be 3 islands only. We were approaching the super small island when we were all surprised by what we saw. There was trash everywhere!
This broke my heart and the other tourists who were with me. We asked our guide if this was a normal scenario on the area and he said that there isn’t normally any single trash on the island. He also made it a point that it might be due to the changing current and of the wind.
We ended up not being able to enjoy the last island and went home. On the way home I can’t stop thinking about the tragic scenery we just witnessed. I can’t help but think, how have we become so unconscious about this issue?
Indeed the ocean remains one of the vastest and diverse places on our planet but has become so vulnerable to something as simple as the human touch. The environment is, unfortunately, being threatened by ocean pollution and our marine life is paying for the price. It is suffering at an alarming rate.
With my increasing curiosity and interest on the topic, I looked up some facts about Ocean Pollution. Here, I will share some of those that blew my mind:
1. According to a study, 18 billion pounds of plastic trash is accumulated in our oceans every year. More than plenty, right? This is more than enough trash to cover every foot of coastline around the world. Scary, huh?
2. 80% of the trash that is found in the ocean is from land sources. This includes individuals, industry and improper waste management. And the remaining 20% is from ocean-based sources, like fishing, shipping, and cruise ship industries.
3. Single-use plastics are the most common items that are found in coastal cleanups. These include food wrappers, plastic cigarette butts, plastic bottles, bottle caps, straws, and plastic drink stirrers.
4. Inside the Pacific Ocean, an island of garbage that is twice the size of Texas exists. This is the North Pacific Gyre off the coast of California. This is deemed as the largest oceanic garbage site in the world. Here in the immediate vicinity, the number of floating plastic pieces outnumbers the total marine life six to one.
5. Fishes and other marine life, unfortunately, cannot tell the difference between plastic and food. Once ingested, these marine creatures can’t digest it. The plastic fills in their stomachs, accumulates there until they starve to death.
6. Plastic wastes make its way to the deepest parts of the ocean. Studies found out that the crustaceans in the Marianas Trench — the ocean’s deepest point, have plastic traces in their stomach.
7. There is too much plastic garbage in the ocean, enough to circle the Earth 400 times.
8. The chemicals that are present in heavily polluted waters can make their way back to us. These can cause serious health issues such as hormonal problems, nervous system damage, reproductive problems, and kidney damage.
9. A recent survey shows that ocean pollution is more prevailing in deep waters (more than 2,000 feet deep). Commonly found are plastic bags, fishing equipment, metal cans, shoes, glass bottles, and tires.
10. More than one million sea birds die each year due to ocean pollution.
It breaks my heart that this is happening and I hope everyone would make an effort to save our ocean.
= new reply since forum marked as read
