Up until 2050 the oceans will have more plastics that fish. Namely, thousands marine organisms die every year after swallowing too much plastics, or being trapped in them. However, there are five species that plastic pollution has affected the most.
For a better understanding of the amount of discharged plastic, a study conducted by a scientific working group at UC Santa Barbara’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), concluded that every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans. What is more concerning is that, according to the study, the cumulative input for 2025 would be nearly 20 times the 8 million metric tons estimation.
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Marine animals are many times unable to understand the difference between their food and plastics. This is especially important considering the fact that the vast majority of garbage ending in the oceans are plastics.
But, five species have felt the most of plastic pollution. These are the following:
1. Sea turtles
In 2018 scientists examined over 100 sea turtles, finding plastic in all of their stomachs;
2. Fish
More than 50 species are eating plastic garbage;
3. Seals
Often seals are getting trapped in plastic packages and rubber obstacles;
4. Sea birds
Plastic pollution leads more than 1 million sea birds to their death each year;
5. Whales
A population of whales has been detected with more than 40 kilos of plastics in their stomachs.
However, over 800 species are affected every day by plastics.
