How Does Ocean Pollution Affect The Environment

How Does Ocean Pollution Affect The Environment – The ocean is one of the most unexplored parts of our planet, with an abundance of undiscovered species and mysteries. It turns out from the studies carried out in the last few years, that the wonderful environment is under serious threat of human intervention, with plastics there should be more fish in 2050.

As we know, marine life is irreparably damaged by chemical pollution of the waters and millions of tons of mismanaged waste are dumped into the oceans every year. The result is a planetary crisis in which more than 100,000,000 marine animal lives are lost each year, and the decline of the marine ecosystem.

How Does Ocean Pollution Affect The Environment

Almost 1,000 species of marine animals are affected by ocean pollution, and we now have over 500 locations recorded as dead zones where marine life cannot exist. How it happened, what is the biggest damage, find out everything below in the statistics on marine pollution.

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There are now approximately 75-199 million tons of plastic waste in our oceans, and an additional 33 billion pounds of plastic each year in the marine environment.

100,000 marine animals die every year from being entangled in plastic – these are just the creatures we find!

1 in 3 marine mammal species get stuck in litter, North Pacific fish ingest 12-14,000 tonnes of plastic each year.

In the last 10 years, we have produced more plastic than in the last century. By 2050, fish pollution will exceed our dumped plastic.

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The largest garbage patch on the planet is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, twice the surface area of ​​Texas, it outnumbers sea life there 6 to 1.

China is ranked #1 for waste and mismanaged plastics. However, it is the United States. It is in the top 20 with more significant contributions per person.

300 million tons of plastic are created every year, which is the same as the entire human population, and 50% is single use.

There are an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste in our oceans. 269,000 tons float, 4 billion microfibers live per km ² below the surface.

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As for plastic, 8.3 million tonnes are thrown into the sea every year. Of those, 236,000 are unacceptable microplastics that sea creatures mistake for food.

Plastics take 500-1000 years to degrade; Currently 79% is sent to landfills or the ocean, and only 9% is recycled, and 12% is incinerated.

500 marine sites have now been recorded as dead zones worldwide, currently the size of the UK (245,000 km²)

The largest garbage patch on the planet is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

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The marine garbage patch is twice the surface area of ​​Texas and outnumbers sea life there 6-1.

The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is 20 million square kilometers, created by four currents (North Pacific, Kuroshio, North Equatorial and California Current).

20% of the Greater Pacific Garbage Area is offshore debris from oil rigs, Pacific cargo ships and boats dumping trash into the water.

Of this, 705,000 tonnes are fishing nets, which make up the majority of the waste. But all kinds of electronics and toys are lost from cargo ships.

Why The Un Is Taking On Plastic Pollution

Millions of pieces of plastic are found in the 5 ocean gears, directly poisoning marine wildlife as they feed in their habitat.

46% of the plastic items we make float, it can take years before they end up in the ocean.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a floating island of debris, accumulated in the North Pacific Ocean by a wide system of currents known as gyres. It consists of two other garbage patches, the Western Garbage Patch near Japan and the Eastern Garbage Patch near the West Coast of America near California and Hawaii.

The North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone connects the eastern and western garbage patches, acting as a highway to transfer waste from one to the other. Because of this, a small amount of debris that fell near California can travel to Japan, and eventually be sucked up by the swirling garbage patch vortices.

Can Our Oceans Be Saved From Environmental Ruin?

The size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is staggering – the patches of garbage are said to be twice the size of Texas and float on the surface, but sink several meters into the ocean in places, making the size just right challenging to measure. The world’s largest garbage site is made up mainly of microplastics that form a giant cloud, with new items of less-broken-down trash floating around like chunks in a soup. The effects of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch on marine life are profound.

1 in 3 marine mammal species get stuck in litter, North Pacific fish ingest 12-14,000 tonnes of plastic each year.

For example, albatross and other birds mistake plastics for fish eggs, and unfortunately feed them to their chicks, who die from organ failure or starvation.

Recent studies have found marine plastic pollution in 100% of turtles, 59% of whales, and 36% of seals.

How Data Is Quantifying The Impact Of Plastic On The Environment

The air is not safe either, more than 90% of all seabirds have pieces of plastic in their stomachs.

Mammals such as seals drowned in the 705,000 tonnes of discarded fishing nets – this terrible phenomenon was called ‘ghost fishing’.

About 25% of the marine life known to man is in our coral reefs. When it comes into contact with marine plastic, the probability of death is between 4%-89%.

Most of the fish we eat as humans (trout, perch, cisco, etc) would have ingested plastic and microfiber.

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It was believed that due to the large size of the sea, we can dump waste and it would not have any impact, but due to the increase in the number of volumes together with the way the gears and the current move them , this is not the case. How many marine animals die each year from plastic… The current estimated figure is 100 million, including fish, mammals and seabirds.

When you look at animals affected by water pollution, worldwide, it is estimated that 50% of sea turtles are affected by plastics, being ingested and dying through their digestive systems becoming clogged. For many turtles, jellyfish are a vital part of their diets, and they happen to look a lot like plastic bags.

705,000 tons of fishing nets have also been thrown into the ocean, and this is another critical threat to many marine mammals such as seals, dolphins, whales, and even smaller animals such as fish and sea lions. Tackling these can often lead to injury and death.

As far as seabirds are concerned, the figures are dire. Of all species studied, 98% of albatrosses are believed to have ingested plastics at some point. This is due to the fact that they mistake the microplastics for fish eggs, pass them on to their young and eat them as adults.

Ocean Pollution Statistics & Facts 2023

Fish are absorbing toxins from the ocean and taking in debris through their gills. Whales take in a huge amount of plastics and waste for food, this issue has increased in examinations of strands.

Where we can see that waste debris is a huge problem, toxic chemicals harm marine animals as oil and other pollutants enter the ocean through spills and drainage. This changes the ecosystem dramatically and kills off any marine life that comes into contact with it.

Plastics take 500-1000 years to degrade; Currently 79% is sent to landfills or the ocean, and only 9% is recycled, and 12% is incinerated.

Styrofoam cups take 50 years to biodegrade, aluminum cans take 200 years, nappy cups take 450 years, plastic bottles take 450 years, and fishing lines take 600 years.

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Common items found: cigarette filters (32%), food packaging (9%), bottle caps (8%), tableware (6%), bottles (plastic) (6%), plastic carrier bags (5%).

Cigarette filters are the most common item collected from beach collections, more than 60 million in 30 years – these are just the ones we found.

500 billion plastic bags are used every year – on average, the working life of the bags is 15 minutes.

Every year, we use 500 billion plastic bottles – that means there are 66 times as many bottles as people on the planet.

Invisible Plastic Particles From Textiles And Tyres A Major Source Of Ocean Pollution

14% of our waste comes from bottles, less than half is collected for recycling, but only 7% becomes a new bottle.

60% of the materials in our clothes are forms of plastic (nylon, acrylic, polyester, etc). In a typical laundry wash, 700,000 microplastic fibers end up in the water.

Annually, it is USA. 27.4 billion nappies are disposed of, much of which ends up in landfills and our oceans.

The oceans that cover our planet act as a carbon dioxide sponge; Once it is in our atmosphere our oceans absorb it. The positive effect of this is that our oceans are lowering our global warming by reducing CO2 concentrations. The problem is that the CO2 levels are too high and the volume being absorbed into the sea is affecting the pH levels. This is extremely harmful because it changes the entire ecosystem, vulnerable habitats such as coral fall victims to this, which is home to 25% of all marine life.

Ocean Plastic Pollution Is Killing Marine Wildlife At An Alarming Rate

It is estimated that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic

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