Oceanography- Trash Pollution
Name_________________________
Debris in the marine environment sure is a sad sight. Not only does it spoil the scenery, but it also has
the potential of causing serious harm to animals who make the ocean their home. Picture those glorious vacation
posters of tropical beaches…..now add to that image some plastic six-pack rings and empty beer bottles strewn
across the sunbathed sand. Not your idea of paradise, is it? It is disturbing to think that we have littered such
beautiful places, but it is even more disturbing to think about the birds, fish, and mammals who become
entangled in old fishing nets, trapped and unable to move or find food. Plastics are particularly hazardous to
marine life because they are not biodegradable (capable of being decomposed by biological agents like bacteria)
and they float on the surface where many other food sources are found. Sea turtles have been known to swallow
plastic bags, mistaking them for jellyfish, and then starve. Ultimately, we are responsible for it all.
Marine debris is a worldwide problem. The garbage that ends up in the marine environment comes from
various sources, and due to prevailing winds and ocean currents, it can end up very far away from its original
source. Land sources are responsible for 70% of the trash, and most of that is washed off of streets, down storm
drains, and flows directly into our waterways. Beachgoers who leave their trash behind are also part of the
problem. Ocean sources of marine debris include commercial fishing, recreational fishing and boating, cargo
vessels, cruise ships, and offshore petroleum rigs, to name a few. Ocean dumping is very difficult to regulate,
and laws were only established as recently as 1973 (to prohibit the practice of ocean dumping in general) and
1987 (to specifically prohibit the dumping of plastic trash within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone).
1. What are some of the ways trash makes it to the ocean?
2. What do you think the 5 most commonly found trash items on beaches around the world are?
3. What do you think are the most dangerous trash items for marine wildlife?
4. What are some ways you can prevent trash pollution?
5. Make a graph from the data table below. The data shows the most commonly found trash items in the
ocean over the past 25 years.
Rank
Debris Item
Number of Debris Items
(millions)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Cigarettes
Food Wrappers/Containers
Caps, Lids
Plastic Cups and Silverware
Plastic Bottles
Plastic Bags
Glass Bottles
Aluminum Cans
Straws/Stirrers
Rope
52.9
14.7
13.6
10.1
9.5
7.8
7.1
6.8
6.3
3.2
6. How did your list of the top trash items from the first page compare with the actual list of trash items?
Read the information below to answer the remaining questions.
Plastic can remain in the ocean for 400 years. Plastic is a great human resource because it is durable and
strong, but that’s precisely the qualities that make it so dangerous if it reaches the ocean. The United States is
the source of approximately one third of the trash pollution.
Plastic's devastating effect on marine mammals was first observed in the late 1970s, when scientists
from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory concluded that plastic entanglement was killing up to 40,000
seals a year. Annually, this amounted to a four to six percent drop in seal population beginning in 1976. In 30
years, a 50% decline in Northern Fur Seals has been reported.
Along Florida's coasts, brown pelicans diving for fish sometimes dive for the bait on a fisherman's line.
Cutting the bird loose only makes the problem worse, as the pelican gets its wings and feet tangled in the line,
or gets snagged onto a tree.
Plastic soda rings, plastic bags, Styrofoam particles and plastic pellets (small hard pieces of plastic) are
often mistaken by sea turtles as authentic food. Clogging their intestines, and missing out on vital nutrients, the
turtles starve to death. Seabirds undergo a similar ordeal, mistaking the pellets for fish eggs, small crab and
other prey, sometimes even feeding the pellets to their young. Despite the fact that only 0.05% of plastic pieces
from surface waters are pellets, they comprise about 70% of the plastic eaten by seabirds. These small plastic
particles have been found in the stomachs of 63 of the world's approximately 250 species of seabirds.
Many things are being done to try and reduce the amount of trash deposited in the ocean including better
scientific understanding, governmental policy reforms, and organizational movements, but there are several
things you can do to help:
1. Reduce - Reduce the amount of plastics you use and refuse to buy manufactured items that
will end up in the ocean.
2. Reuse- Buy reusable drink containers, silverware, shopping bags, etc. instead of using plastic
ones. Drink tap water from a reusable water bottle (it’s really the same water as water
bottles!)
3. Recycle- If you do you plastic items, go the extra mile to recycle them.
7. What are some ways trash pollution harms marine wildlife?
8. What are easy preventive methods that you could do to help reduce your trash pollution and protect
marine ecosystems?