7. Facts about marine
pollution
● Animals like turtles can think plastic bags are jellyfish and try to eat
them which can cause blockage in the stomach and will result in
death
● If someone eats a fish contaminated because of pollution they may
become fatally ill
● The biggest source of marine pollution is land
● Excessive nutrients from sewage outfalls and agricultural runoff have
caused “dead zones”, places with very little amounts of oxygen which
can not support marine life and may result in ecosystems collapsing
● There are close to 500 dead zones covering more than 245,000km2
which is about the size of the UK
● Annually about a million seabirds are killed due to plastic debris and
about 100,000 marine animals
● Scientists believe that if we keep on how we are, our children may
never see dolphins and certain fish
Marine pollution -Marine pollution -
The pollution of a body of water resulting in the harm of the community of living things in the water
e.g. Ducks eating plastic, sea lions caught in discarded nets, dolphins getting caught in plastic soda holder
The pollution of a body of water resulting in the harm of the community of living things in the water
e.g. Ducks eating plastic, sea lions caught in discarded nets, dolphins getting caught in plastic soda holder
Animals aren’t the only things affected when the ocean is polluted. Our drinking water is also affected and the plant life can be killed by the chemicals in the water.
Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales, and other marine mammals, and more than 1 million seabirds die each year from ocean pollution and ingestion or entanglement in marine debris.
In the Pacific Ocean, the North Pacific Gyre is home to the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, a large area that is approximately the size of Texas with debris extending 20 feet (6 meters) down into the water column. It’s estimated that this “plastic island” contains 3.5 million tons of trash and could double in size in the next 5 years.
Researchers have also estimated that for every 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of plankton in this area, there is 13.2 pounds (6 kilograms) of plastic.
Well one is just don’t throw away garbage into the ocean and if you see something like a fishing net floating around pick it up. To help make up for the water lost due to pollution help with the UNICEF tap project where unicef will donate enough water for one day of living to a child in need for every 15 minutes you don’t touch your phone. Donate to a marine conservation charity like seeturtles.
Animals like turtles can think bags are jellyfish
People can become fatally ill from eating fish of a polluted area
The biggest source of marine pollution is land
Sewage outfalls and ag. runoff can create dead zones
Close to 500 dead zones = to size of UK
1 mill. seabirds killed every year because of plastic debris
Our kids will never see dolphins and certain fish