Shanmei yasen/staff reporter

In the past half century (especially in the past 15 years), the growth rate of plastic production is much faster than that of any other manufacturing materials. In recent years, with the explosive growth of disposable plastic products, its impact on marine ecosystem is more significant than before.

These pollution causes the greatest damage to marine life. Every year, 100 million marine animals die from plastic waste. Nearly 1000 kinds of marine animals are affected by marine pollution. More than 500 sites have been recorded as dead areas. By 2005, the amount of plastic in the ocean will exceed that of fish.

269,000 tons of garbage were floating on the sea. Every year, 100,000 marine animals die from being entangled by plastic, and a third of marine mammals may be entangled by garbage. In the ocean, plastic bags look like jellyfish. Most marine organisms cannot distinguish food from plastic waste. Albatrosses and other birds mistake plastic for fish eggs. They sadly feed plastic to their chicks, who die of organ failure or hunger. Plastic contaminants were found in 100% of turtles, 59% of whales and 36% of seals. More than 90% of seabirds have plastic fragments in their stomachs, while mammals such as seals are drowned in abandoned fishing nets.

From these shocking data, we can see a lot of truth. Marine organisms are very likely to die due to marine pollution; Even the number of plastics has exceeded the number of animals. This marine plastic pollution will not only affect the animals in the ocean, but also affect the seabirds that feed on marine animals. If the marine plastic waste is not treated, more marine animals will be endangered in the future.

The second serious problem is the direct pollution and damage to the ocean. The largest garbage dump on earth is the Pacific Garbage belt, with an area twice that of Texas. The North Pacific subtropical confluence connects the eastern and Western garbage areas and becomes a highway for garbage transfer. Because of this, a small piece of garbage falling near California can cross to Japan. 20% of the garbage in the Pacific Garbage belt comes from oil drilling platforms and cargo ships. Including 700,000 tons of fishing nets. Ninety percent of the world’s marine garbage comes from ten rivers. They are Amur River, Indus River, Pearl River, Yangtze River, Yellow River, Ganges River, Haihe River and Mekong River, Niger, and Nile.

The water pollution area of the ocean is huge, covering the main oceans in the world. Their pollution sources mainly come from rivers in human activity areas. The pollution ability of plastic waste and its destructive ability to the ocean are amazing. If we want to solve the problem of marine plastics, we must start with rivers. We must try our best to solve the problem of plastic pollution in the river. To stop this plastic waste from entering the sea through the river.

Coral reefs are also endangered in the sea. Coral reefs provide vital fisheries and coastal defense. They urgently need to be protected from the destructive effects of plastic waste. Lam et al. Investigated 159 coral reefs in the Asia Pacific region. Billions of plastic products are trapped in the reef. The more prickly the coral species, the more likely they are to touch plastic. Once the coral is covered with plastic, the risk of disease increases 20 times. Plastic fragments exert pressure on corals by depriving light, releasing toxins and hypoxia, providing a foothold for pathogen invasion.

Plastic waste can promote microbial colonization of pathogens in marine disease outbreaks. Scientists assessed the impact of plastic waste on the risk of reef forming coral diseases in 124000 of 159 coral reefs in the Asia Pacific region. When coral comes into contact with plastic, the possibility of disease increases from 4% to 89%. Corals with complex structures are eight times more likely to be affected by plastics than other corals, indicating that the microhabitat of coral reef related organisms and valuable fisheries will be disproportionately affected. The amount of plastic on coral reefs is equivalent to an estimate of poor management of land-based plastic waste entering the ocean. We estimate that 11.1 billion plastic products are wrapped around coral reefs in the Asia Pacific region, which is expected to increase by 40% by 2025. Plastic waste management is essential to reduce diseases that threaten ecosystem health and human livelihoods.

Source：