Marine life and plastic pollution

Two months ago, people in Versova, Mumbai were celebrating because their efforts for about two years have now born some fruits. Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings spotted after cleanup of Versova beach by Afroz Shah and volunteers. It was a very proud moment for the group as well as the other people living there.

Olive ridley turtle on Versova beach, Mumbai

No one witnessed these turtles over past few years on the beach as it was very dirty and polluted. But, their showing up on the beach definitely mean the positive action of the beach cleanup that is happening on the beach from past 2 years every weekend. But, why would we need the beach clean up in the first place?

Afroz shah cleaning up the litter on his weekly clean up

Marine litter is the result why the beach looked awful and dirty back two years ago. But thanks to Afroz Shah and his volunteers. But sadly, other beaches in Mumbai and other cities on the shores don't get beach cleanups. In fact, they are so overly polluted and littered that people have stopped visiting them. India has some of the most polluted waterways and beaches in the world due to rapid, unplanned urbanisation, overpopulation and neglectful attitudes, including to public littering.

What is marine litter?

Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally been released in a lake, sea, ocean or waterway. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack.

Marine debris floating in oceans

Types of debris

• Fishing nets left or lost in the ocean by fishermen – ghost nets – can entangle fish, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, seabirds, crabs and other creatures. These nets restrict movement, causing starvation, laceration and infection, and, in animals that breathe air, suffocation. 
• 8.8 million metric tons of plastic waste is dumped in the world's oceans each year. Asia was the leading source of mismanaged plastic waste, with China alone accounting for 2.4 million metric tons. Eighty percent of marine debris is plastic. Plastics accumulate because they typically do not biodegrade as many other substances do.
• Nurdles, also known as "mermaids' tears", are plastic pellets, typically under five millimetres in diameter, that are a major component of marine debris.
• Litter, made from diverse materials that are denser than surface water (such as glasses, metals and some plastics), have been found to spread over the floor of seas and open oceans, where it can become entangled in corals and interfere with other sea-floor life, or even become buried under sediment, making clean-up extremely difficult, especially due to the wide area of its dispersal compared to shipwrecks. 

A turtle caught in the abandoned fishing net

Plastic debris from inland states come from two main sources: ordinary litter and materials from open dumps and landfills that blow or wash away to inland waterways and wastewater outflows. The refuse finds its way from inland waterways, rivers, streams and lakes to the ocean. Though ocean and coastal area cleanups are important, it is crucial to address plastic waste that originates from inland and landlocked states.

How marine life is affected by this?

Many animals that live on or in the sea consume flotsam by mistake, as it often looks similar to their natural prey. Bulky plastic debris may become permanently lodged in the digestive tracts of these animals, blocking the passage of food and causing death through starvation or infection. Tiny floating plastic particles also resemble zooplankton, which can lead filter feeders to consume them and cause them to enter the ocean food chain. 

Turtle died because of starvation as it couldn't move out of the net

Plastic waste has reached all the world's oceans. This plastic pollution harms an estimated 100,000 sea turtles and marine mammals and 1,000,000 sea creatures each year. Larger plastics such as plastic shopping bags can clog the digestive tracts of these larger animals when consumed by them and can cause starvation through restricting the movement of food, or by filling the stomach and tricking the animal into thinking it is full.

Birds mistook the plastic waste as their food

How can you help?

One of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to help reduce the amount of plastic entering our oceans is to not participate in using single-use plastics, avoid plastic bottled drinks such as water bottles, use reusable shopping bags, and to buy products with reusable packaging.

A poster trying to raise awareness about balloons

Other ways to help are as follows:

• Reduce usage of single-use plastics such as plastic bags, straws, water bottles, utensils and coffee cups by replacing them with reusable products such as reusable bags, metal straws, reusable water bottles, bamboo toothbrushes and reusable coffee cups
• Avoid microbeads, which are found in face scrubs, toothpaste and body washes
• Participate in a river or lake beach clean up
• Support municipality bans and other legislation regulating single-use plastics and plastic waste
• Continue to recycle, recycle, recycle