1、How plastic waste is affecting wildlife and fisheriesThe main waste in the ocean is the Plastic debris.About 80 percent of marine debris is plastic.Every year,a huge number of seabirds,turtles,and fisheries died of eating plastic debris by mistake.1Human actions that polluted the pacific ocean?Merch
2、ant ships expel cargo,sewage,used medical equipment,and other types of waste that contain plastic into the ocean.?Naval and research vessels eject waste and military equipment that are deemed unnecessary.?Pleasure crafts release fishing gear and other types of waste,either accidentally or through ne
3、gligent handling.?The largest ocean-based source of plastic pollution is discarded fishing gear(including traps and nets),estimated to be up to 90%of plastic debris in some areas.（Hammer,J;Kraak,MH;Parsons&JR,2012）2The organism that is being affected?Seabirds?Whales?Fisheries?Seals?Sea lions?Sea tur
4、tle?Dolphins3Aquatic wildlife can be threatened by.Obviously,this sea turtle was scarred.After this picture was taken,maybe it would die soon.As we can imagine,there are still thousands of sea turtles under the threaten of plastic debris.If no one helps them,they are just dying lonely,scared,and des
5、perated.4This picture tells us a sad story about this turtle:it was trapped accidentally when it was young.As it grew bigger and bigger,the rubber band limited it.As a result,its body was deformed.5Convincing data(on Pacific Ocean)?In a 2008 Pacific Gyre voyage,Algalita Marine Research Foundation re
6、searchersbegan finding that fish are eating plastic fragments and waste.Of the 672 fish caught during that voyage,35%had ate plastic pieces.Click to see more details?TheNorth Pacific Gyre,for example,has collected the so-called“Great Pacific Garbage Patch”,which is now estimated to be one to twenty
7、times the size of Texas(approximately from 700,000 to 15,000,000 square kilometers).In samples taken in 1999,the mass of plastic exceeded that of zooplankton(the dominant animal life in the area)by a factor of six.(Weisman&Alan，2007).Click to see more details6Effects on wildlife&fisheries(how have t
8、he plastic debris affected them)1.Entanglement?Entanglement is responsible for many different kinds of wildlife.Such as seals,fish,turtles,and birds.?These animals get caught in the debris and end upsuffocating ordrowning.?They dont have hands like us to untangle themselves,as a result,（Hammer,J;Kra
9、ak,MH;Parsons&JRthey die from their inability to escape their predators.2012).8Effects on wildlife&fisheries(how have the plastic debris affected them)2.IngestionSea animals?Turtlessometimes mistake plastic bags for jellyfish.?“This plastic debris can kill the sea turtle by obstructing theesophagus.
10、”(Gregory&M.R.14 June 2009)?So too are whales;large amounts of plastics have been found in the stomachs of beached whales.?Truth:In June 2018,more than 80 plastic bags were found inside a dying pilot whale that washed up on the shores of Thailand.(Whale dies from eating more than 80 plastic bags.The
11、 Guardian.June 2,2018.RetrievedJune 17,2018.)9A heart-broken photo 10An exhibit at theMote Marine Laboratorythat displays plastic bags in the ocean that look similar to jellyfish.11Effects on wildlife&fisheries(how have the plastic debris affected them)2.IngestionBirds?Seabirds often mistake trash f
12、loating on the oceans surface as prey.?Even worse,marine plastic pollution can reach birds that have never been at the sea.Parents may accidentally feed their nestlings plastic,mistaking it for food.(Rodrguez,A;et al.)?Seabird chicks are the most vulnerable to plastic ingestion since they cant vomit
13、 up their food like the adult seabirds.(Derraik,J.G.B.，2002)12The biodiversity of the“Great Pacific Garbage Patch”is decreasing14Reasons:1.Fauna&Flora International(FFI)has already confirmed that plastic debris will pose a growing threat to Marine biodiversity and marine food chain in 2010.2.There w
14、ill be moreplastic than fish in the oceanby 2050,warned theEllen MacArthur Foundation in areport published Tuesday.(There Will Be More Plastic Than Fish in the Ocean by 2050,January 19,2016)3.Scientists said that whales such as whale sharks are endangered.Currently,the whale shark has been listed on
15、 the world union for conservation of nature(IUCN)red list of endangered species ver3.1 vulnerable(VU)in 2005,and is also listed in CITES level protection of animals under the Washington convention.15Efforts that human made to help those organisms?Every year,June 5 is observed as World Environment Da
16、y to raise awareness and increase government action on the pressing issue.In 2018,India is the host to this years World Environment Day and the theme is Beat Plastic Pollution with focus on single-use or disposable plastic.?On 11 April 2013 in order to create awareness,artistMaria Cristina Finuccifo
17、unded TheGarbage Patch StateatUNESCO Paris in front of Director GeneralIrina Bokova.(The garbage patch territory turns into a new state-United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization.unesco.org.)First of a series of events under the patronage of UNESCO and of Italian Ministry of the
18、 Environment.8016Although we made some effort to help those organisms,there are still a huge number of things that we should do.In my opinion,it is our duty to keep our beautiful home-the earth clean,and try our best to protect the biodiversity.17I hope that every corner of the Pacific is as clean as this place.1819
