Show Our Oceans Some Love

Suit Up to Clean Up

Have you ever walked along a beautiful shoreline and discovered plastic at your feet? Sadly, the problem goes much deeper than what you’re seeing on the beach. Scientists estimate that more than 8 million metric tons of plastic enters our oceans every year. If we don’t act now, there could be a pound of plastic for every 3 pounds of fish in the ocean within the next decade!

So, how much trash are we talking? The (sadly) well-known Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world, located between Hawaii and California, is a prime example of how plastics and trash can build at alarming rates. The Patch is estimated to weigh approximately 80,000 tons. This weight is equivalent to that of 500 Jumbo Jets.

Not only is trash unsightly, it causes irreparable damage to our waterways, harms coral and other sea life, affects human health, and disturbs economies.

Effects of Ocean Trash

Trash in the water and on the shore can have lethal consequences. Marine species often get tangled in debris, from fishing nets to six-pack rings. If they get caught, they could get injured or even die. Even if they do not get entangled, many animals mistake plastic debris for food, and eat it. This fills their stomachs with junk they can’t digest.

Citing the harmful impact of marine debris, the United Nations Environment Programme’s research states that 270 species of marine life worldwide are affected by entanglement in or ingestion of marine trash, including 86 percent of all sea turtles species, 44 percent of all seabird species and 43 percent of all marine mammal species.

Debris can also damage important habitats, like coral reefs, by breaking or smothering them. Corals serve as the base of the marine ecosystem. Chemical-riddled plastics are ingested by fish, then we consume those fish, transferring the plastics and chemicals into our bodies. It has been reported that the average seafood consumer in the UK will ingest about 11,000 plastic particles every year!

Marine debris also hurts economies, since people do not want to visit or live near dirty beaches. A South African study concluded that 10 pieces of marine debris per meter of beach would deter 40 percent of foreign tourists, while another study in New Jersey, USA estimated that the state lost billions of dollars in tourism revenue as a result of marine debris washing ashore. Who wants to walk along a beach full of straws and plastic bottles?  Boats and ships can run into large pieces of debris, too, and get their propellers tangled.

What You Can Do

Grab your friends and family, and “Suit Up to Clean Up” during the annual coastal cleanup on September 15th! The International Coastal Cleanup is sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy, which started this annual endeavor more than 30 years ago. The Cleanup has grown immensely since its inception. Volunteers from states and territories throughout the U.S. and more than 100 countries come together each year to participate in a cleanup event near them. Sub Sea Systems and its Sea TREK locations support this effort through Reef Alliance. Sea TREK operators organize and/or participate in cleanup events, and document the trash collected for submittal to Ocean Conservancy. The Sea TREK operator that puts on the best cleanup event is considered for the annual Reef Alliance Award.

You can join this year’s coastal cleanup by participating in an organized cleanup event near you, or by starting your own.

There’s hope for our oceans. By educating and empowering the public, we can stop trashing our waterways and start cleaning up the damage. For more details on the Conservancy’s 2018 Coastal Cleanup, go to:  https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup/