Plastic Problems

Did you know that approximately 12 metric tons of plastic ends up in the ocean every single year? It causes many drawbacks for sea animals, including how some animals mistake it for their prey, and how they can get entangled in it. Plastic poses many issues for marine creatures. To begin with, a huge amount of underwater animals often consume the plastic thiinking it's their dinner, but later, after they realize it wasn't what they were thinking it was, it's already too late. Imagine eating your favorite food, only to find out you've been poisoned. According to "Marine plastic pollution-resource | IUCN" it states, "Marine wildlife such as seabirds, whales, fish, and turtles mistake plastic waste for prey; most then die of starvation as their stomachs become filled with plastic. They also suffer from lacerations, infections, reduced ability to swim and internal injuries." For example, imagine you're on a boat, and then you notice a dolphin lying on it's back not moving an inch. You dive into the ocean in your swim suit to check if it's still alive, and fortunately, it is, but there's a very faint heartbeat. The reason this happend was most likely because the plastic tore many of the dolphin's internal organs, most of them from it's digestive system. "Why fish mistake plastic for food | Food Packaging Forum" states, "In an article published on August 16, 2017 by news provider Popular Science, journalist Kendra Pierre-Louis reports on a new scientific study finding that fish mistake marine plastic debris for food because it smells similar to their actual food." This is very problematic because some animals have horrible eyesight, or they're blind, so the only thing that they can rely on is their sense of smell. The problem is that when they come across plastic, they'll think it's their normal food, so they will happily eat it, without knowing that it's extremely bad for them. Additionally, quite a few animals get tangled up plastic often, which causes harm towards them. According to "Animals Stuck In Plastic and Endangerement" it states, "Marine mammals such as sea lions, dolphins, and seals are regularly the victims of their own curiosity, and turtles are known for getting easily stuck in plastic too. They swim right up to plastic objects and play with them." As they toy around, they gradually start to get entagled, leaving them stuck. The worse part is, they rarely ever get out of it before they're dead. According to "OCEAN GOVERNANCE MARINE MAMMALS - Entanglement" states, "marine debris become wrapped around the animal, weighing it down or hampering its movement – often leading to the animal's death, or serious welfare issues." For example, pretend you're a seal. You need to come up for air every once in a while in order to breathe. At the moment, you're very bored and have absolutely nothing to do. Now, imagine you see a piece of plastic. You go up to it and start playing with it. When you get bored again, you decide to leave it, but you're stuck! You can barely move at all, and you know soon you're going to need to go up for air, but you can't! Eventually, you sadly drown, unless saved by humans. In conclusion, plastic causes many animals to have many servere injuries or even cause them to pass on. To stop this, we need to stop putting plastic in the sea, and instead, put it in a trash can.