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Marine Pollution
Marine Pollution
Marine pollution is a big problem about 220 million tons of plastic is produced each year. About 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating around the seas. About 700 species of marine animals are threatened by marine pollution. It kills a lot of marine life and destroys ocean places such as the Great Barrier Reef(GBR).
Marine Pollution is trash that ends up in the ocean it can consist of plastic, bags, fishing nets, bottles, anything trash related. About 1.4 billion pounds of trash enters oceans per year “Global plastic production doubles every 11 years,”(Parker). Marine pollution decomposes very slowly and some of the pollution floats around the ocean and some sinks to the bottom of oceans. This a bad thing because it will stay in oceans and places for a long time if not cleaned up.
Graph of all the Global composition of marine trash.
A map showing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and other Garbage Patches.
Why It happens is when people do not recycle their trash the right way and it ends up in oceans. 80% of marine pollution comes from land based sources like a overfilled trash can that is outside with no lid and then a gust of wind blows the trash around. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the world's largest collection of floating trash It lies between Hawaii and California and is often described as “larger than Texas,” (Parker). The trash from this goes all over the ocean getting washed on beaches from waves and currents.
Dead Albatross with trash in stomach from marine pollution
How marine pollution affects the marine life is fish are getting tangled in nets and trash and cant get themselves free from the nets and drift away. It is an estimate of 100,000 marine animals such as dolphins, turtles, sea birds, fish, and a lot of other marine life die from getting tangled in fishing nets and injured from plastic. Marine life often mistake trash for food and end up eating it. Marine life can't digest the trash they eat and they can't always swallow the trash and choke on the trash they eat and they end up dying. A recent study in Australia shows that a Australian Shear-water chick had over 80 pieces of plastic in its stomach “Essentially, the number of species and number of individuals within species that you find plastic in is going up fairly rapidly by a couple percent every year.” says (Chris Wilcox) a research scientist with (Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization).
Marine pollution also makes some marine life endangered species and it can damage marine life habitats and some marine life breeding places like sea turtles they need beaches to breed especially the endangered types of sea turtles. Trash filled beaches make it so endangered turtles can't breed and can't raise the population of endangered turtles and the same for other types of marine life the need the ocean to breed. Pollution creates bacteria from the trash that has been in many different places with a lot of germs. Marine pollution creates bacteria that kills and hurts the fish and damages the ocean.
Finally how marine pollution affects the Great Barrier Reef(GBR) is the trash pollution in the GBR gets thrashed around causing the trash to smash into the coral by waves and currents. The smashing into coral causes the coral to break and to get defaced. There are 400 different types of hard and soft coral. It makes it so people can't scuba dive and visit the GBR. The beaches people go to and have fun are closed because of the trash pollution and the people that love to surf can't surf anymore.
Marine pollution is caused by people not properly taking care of their trash. It is all over oceans and has been destroying beaches and coral reefs and kills animals. If everyone takes care of their trash properly then the oceans will be clean and be a better place. The marine animals will live happier lives and not be endangered because of marine pollution. Beaches will be open to people and coral reefs and will not get destroyed. Recycling and taking care of your trash properly will help the oceans a lot.
Glossary
Glossary
Marine: Aquatics and oceans and sea life
Pollution: Something that has harmful affects to the environment
Bacteria: small organisms that carry diseases
Albatross: a large type of sea bird
Decompose: when something gets broken down to tiny pieces
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