So having a background in fisheries I have been well aware of the problems and adverse impacts of over fishing and industrial scale fishing being partially responsible for dramatic stock declines.
In the last number of years I have also seen more and more studies of the potential impacts of plastics in the oceans. Much of this has focused on the accumulation of plastics in the ocean gyres. This sort of left me feeling at least the plastic was concentrated in discrete areas, I am sure most of us have seen photos of animal like sea birds, turtles, dolphin, etc. killed by entanglement with monofilament line and netting.
Lately I have become aware of the probable impacts on fisheries due too microplastics. These are the result of photodegradation as most plastic is not biodegradable. These microplastics are consumed by all filter feeders from the smallest to largest animals in the oceans. Often accumulating in the digestive tracks of these animals. Because we can’t readily see these microplastic particles they don’t register in the public perception of environmental impacts. 90% of the plastic in the oceans is smaller than your fingernail.
However this video of the plastic around Bali should have a very disturbing visual impact on anyone watching it. Realizing just how much plastic that is so small it can"t be seen in the video is much harder to do. Essentially all the plastic ever produced is still present somewhere on the earth. I am now thinking that all disposable plastic should be band, and a tax on all plastic earmarked for clean up. The real and true cost of our use and production of plastic is not being payed by us in dollars, but by life in the oceans. I am reminded of the line in the movie “The Graduate” about plastics being the future. This plastic future is coming true in unforeseen ways. It may prove to be a very dismal future for life in the Ocean and on earth.
She screened her movie here at the University of IL at Urbana-Champaign a couple years ago. A very compelling moving and she is quite impressive, as well.
I always thought you were a little fishy.
I agree this is a major threat. If we and other nations would stop building war ships and build ships to capture plastic we would all be better served.
My wife thinks I am a rabid recycler and plastics are why.
If we stopped letting our trash blow around, eventually end up in a drainage ditch, then into a creek or river and then into the Gulf or one of the oceans, there would be less plastic in our oceans.
@string said:
I always thought you were a little fishy.
I agree this is a major threat. If we and other nations would stop building war ships and build ships to capture plastic we would all be better served.
My wife thinks I am a rabid recycler and plastics are why.
Do you think it’s possible to capture plastic from our waterways without capturing the critters, as well? I’m kind of doubting it.
Without warships, The U.S. would probably be a colony of China or Russia. China has a pretty bad record with the environment, though they are working hard to improve that.
I am planning a river cleanup on the Enoree here in SC. it is just a drop in the bucket but it will remove boats loads of plastic caught in sweepers. I recycle all our plastic and pick up stuff I see all the time. One thing besides the ubiquitous plastic bottles and bags I see in the river is all manner and sizes of balls. They are left outside and when it rains they end up in ditches. Greenville is at the head waters of the Enoree which runs through miles of forest were I paddle. I found a $150 kayak paddle the last time I paddled there, and have never seen a paddle craft on the river in all the times I have paddled it. What we need to do is make more people aware of the major impact plastics are having on the aquatic environment and the animals that inhabit it.
There was a segment on this on one of the national news channels last night. I think it was NBC. They showed a diver swimming around surrounded by plastic trash. They mentioned that it is poisoning all of us and not just the fish.
I wonder what the long term solutions will be? It can probably be cleaned up at some cost so seems like there is a need to impose costs on those that create the litter. I think this is one of those issues where new technology might be needed…like cheap litter-gathering drones.
Tom the big problem is the microplastic. 90% of the plastic in the Ocean is smaller than your fingernail. Much is microscopic and ends up being ingested by filter feeders from the smallest to even whales. Then it is biomagnified by the fish that eat the small filter feeders, and the bigger fish that prey on the smaller ones. What you watched last night is the link I posted. So realize you are seeing only the 10% in the water when you watch that report.
Well castoff it’s a good reminder that we can all make a difference. I often pick up garbage I come across while paddling but I need to be more consistent.
This thread reminds me of something my brother told me…he has a psychology degree. Do you know why police use dogs instead of monkeys? Because monkeys are selfish.
@castoff said:
Tom the big problem is the microplastic. 90% of the plastic in the Ocean is smaller than your fingernail. Much is microscopic and ends up being ingested by filter feeders from the smallest to even whales. Then it is biomagnified by the fish that eat the small filter feeders, and the bigger fish that prey on the smaller ones. What you watched last night is the link I posted. So realize you are seeing only the 10% in the water when you watch that report.
And then there are harmful products on that vein which for which even the purpose is questionable. There’s a company here that packages fragrances in microscopic beads, and they ship it out by the semi-truck load. The stuff is in everything from soap to dryer sheets. One of the big problems with the micro-beads is that tiny fish and eat the stuff because it looks like single-celled organisms to them. Do we really need to poison the oceans with something that allows products to retain a long-lasting scent when there’s not even a need for these products to have a scent in the first place? Sheesh.
@Rex said:
The gorilla in the room is our numbers. People used to talk about how many people this planet can support. You don’t hear much about it now.
So very right. I bring this up often, but it gets a nod of agreement then is shrugged off. No politician dares talk about the gorilla and many avoid bringing up the pile it leaves in the living room. The news doesn’t spend much time on it either. Frustrating! Heaven forbid if it cost money.
And then there are harmful products on that vein which for which even the purpose is questionable. There’s a company here that packages fragrances in microscopic beads, and they ship it out by the semi-truck load. The stuff is in everything from soap to dryer sheets. One of the big problems with the micro-beads is that tiny fish and eat the stuff because it looks like single-celled organisms to them. Do we really need to poison the oceans with something that allows products to retain a long-lasting scent when there’s not even a need for these products to have a scent in the first place? Sheesh.
While microbeads in cosmetics have been (sort of) addressed by the Microbead-Free Waters Act, there’s still the issue of microfibers, which are microplastics generated from washing our poly/nylon synthetic paddling clothes.
@Rex said:
The gorilla in the room is our numbers. People used to talk about how many people this planet can support. You don’t hear much about it now.
Looks like the prophets of the past were right that our numbers caused plagues and famines but they missed what huge numbers do to the water and more important; the air.
Yes habitat loss and mass extinction were not so well stated either. With the break down of species diversity the web of life becomes a few tattered strings.
When the ocean ecosystem has a massive breakdown can we really perceive the true global repercussions any better than the prophets of the population explosion predicted all of its ramifications?
@Yanoer said:
If we stopped letting our trash blow around, eventually end up in a drainage ditch, then into a creek or river and then into the Gulf or one of the oceans, there would be less plastic in our oceans.
We take the canoe out to the local cat tails on our near by creek and collect about four 30 gal trash bags of cups, bottles and stuff ever so often. Most of it comes from street drains that deposit the trash from the streets. People leave trash wherever they go. Ever see the stadium after a game, the field after an outdoor concert, the camp ground after a long weekend?
Yes you are right. I live in a rural small town and pick up trash out of my yard daily/weekly. I paddle a river that has very little use ,but has Greenville at its head waters with Whitmire a small town on the river. It is full of trash after heavy rain run off. You would not believe the number of balls of all sizes that end up in the river. You know it isn’t boaters and fisherman dumping them into the river. It is children leaving them outside and the wind and rain moves them to the ditches and storm drains.
