5 shocking facts around Ocean Pollution
We at OrcaOrigins made it to our mission to educate as well as spread awareness around all ocean-related aspects. This includes the nice, the bad & the horrible topics. In this article of us, you will find some facts and figures about the pollution of the oceans. To make the whole topic a bit more tangible, we have tried to put the numbers into relation.
Fact 1:
Approx. 4.8–12.7 million tons of plastic enter the oceans every year. This is equivalent to about 370,000–976,000 travel buses. It gets even scarier when you consider how many standard plastic bags that would be. A commercially available plastic bag weighs about 20 grams. This means that the minimum amount of plastic that enters the ocean each year is equivalent to 240 million plastic bags. Think about it, insane numbers.
Fact 2:
It takes an average of several hundred years for plastic to decompose in our environment. A fishing line, for example, takes 600 years to decompose. A plastic bottle, on the other hand, decomposes after 450 years. During this time, the plastic simply decomposes into smaller and smaller pieces. This in return means that it can even be more easily absorbed by living creatures. So one plastic bottle is in the sea for 9 generations of orcas (average life expectancy between 40–60 years).
Fact 3:
At least 100 million marine animals die every year from plastic waste in the oceans. This is equivalent to about 1/3 of the US population or the entire population of Spain and Italy combined.
Fact 4:
The largest garbage patch in the world is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, about 1.6 million square kilometers, 3 times the size of France or Thailand.
Insert infographic
Fact 5:
A recent survey found ocean pollution is more common in deep waters (more than 2,000 feet deep), with the most common offenders being plastic bags, metal cans, fishing equipment, glass bottles, shoes, and tires.
One more:
There are already over 500 “dead zones” where life is impossible and absolutely deadly for marine animals or plants. This number has been increasing rapidly over the past 30 years.
What happens to plastic waste?
The impact of plastic waste in the oceans is fatal. Not only that the pollution destroys entire ecosystems, but additionally it’s also a direct threat to species.
The colorful plastic parts are mistaken for food by many oceans near species, such as birds, fishes, and turtles. The consequence: the animals suffocate, suffer deadly constipation, starve to death when their bellies are full, or suffer poisoning. All equally agonizing.
Many animals also become entangled in so-called “ghost nets” that make up a large portion of the trash in the oceans. A variety of different species become entangled in these unused fishing nets and perish. Microplastics are another major problem. Microplastic particles easily enter the bodies of marine animals and can also be absorbed into the human organism through their consumption. What effects this can have has not yet been researched. But one thing is certain: plastic often also contains additives such as plasticizes and flame retardants, which can harm marine life and also reach humans through the food chain.
Please check out a great video from Oceana on this matter.
Sources:
https://de.statista.com/infografik/17508/haltbarkeit-von-plastikmuell-im-meer/
https://www.wwf.de/themen-projekte/plastik/unsere-ozeane-versinken-im-plastikmuell
https://www.condorferries.co.uk/marine-ocean-pollution-statistics-facts
https://bracenet.net/blog/der-groesste-muellstrudel-das-great-pacific-garbage-patch/
https://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/marinedebris.html#MBARI
