Cranes

Flamingos

Flamingos are migratory animals who rely on wetland to feed and protect their nests from predators. As lakes around the world dry up due to climate change and over extraction of water, they have less places to raise their young.

The Fishing Industry

Plastic Pollution

"Consuming plastic leads to widespread scar tissue throughout the internal organs of these seabirds, which slowly starves them, causes kidney and liver disease, and makes them more susceptible to pathogens."

Researchers found that in addition serious damage to their stomach and digestive glands, birds go on to show outward signs including 

• Low body conditions - low fat which reduces their energy reserves.

• Stunted growth

• Shorter wing spans (a serious problem for migratory birds)

"as plastics float around in the ocean for a year, 10 years, a couple of decades, they basically act like a magnet or sponge, and they take all of the chemicals that we've put out into the atmosphere and elsewhere through things like fossil fuel burning, and they absorb it onto the surface so that the plastic becomes" as one marine biologist put it, "like a little toxic bullet.

It's... not just chemicals. Plastics that have been floating in the ocean for years can be vectors for a range of pathogens and diseases. So now we've kind of come full circle.

You've got plastics that can carry bacteria and viruses entering into an animal when it consumes that plastic, and then the plastic itself is breaking down the stomach's ability to defend itself — its mucosal barrier — and it kind of becomes like this loop where things kind of spiral a little bit out of control." - Plastic Pollution is so Bad for Animals it Now Has a Disease Name — 'Plasticosis' 

Solutions

Seafood Alternatives

As people move away from animal-heavy diets, there has been an explosion of seafood alternatives.

Click the Seafood Alternatives button to learn about some of the alternatives we've tried. Each section focuses on a specific species or food type, first discussing why that species should be protected instead of eaten, followed by a small selection of recipes and brands worth trying out.

Plastic Prevention & Cleanups

Reduce Plastic Pollution

Most large pieces of ocean plastic comes from the fishing industry and single-use plastics such as water bottles or food containers. Waste water from laundry dumps massive amounts of microplastics from synthetics clothing, while car and truck tires produce microplastics when rubber wears down on roads.   Explore the button beneath to learn some simple ways you can help reduce plastic pollution.

Plastic Cleanups

Once plastic has entered waterways, it can cause harm throughout multiple environments before it even gets to our oceans, where is can exist for hundreds of years. Click the Plastic Cleanup button to learn about different tools, techniques, and organizations you can join to help protect aquatic environments. 

Ocean Plastic Products

You can also explore the Ocean Plastic Products page to help financially support organizations turning the plastic they recover into useful products.

Tools & Apps

International

• Penguin Watch "Count penguins, chicks and eggs in far away lands to help us understand their lives and environment." Anyone over 5 years old can do this using the time lapse cameras.

• Seabirdwatch "Help monitor seabird populations by tagging time-lapse images"

Africa

Namibia

• Atlasing in Namibia: Bird Information System "Citizen science projects recording biodiversity and cultural heritage in Namibia"