World Oceans Day: Microplastics found in turtles along SA coastlines

World Oceans Day is celebrated annually on 8 June to inform the public of the impact of human actions, such as the occurrence of microplastics in the ocean.

The commemorative day is also used “to develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the oceans”.

World Oceans Day 2021

Theme: ‘Live and Livelihoods’

The theme for 2021 is “The Ocean: Live and Livelihoods” and focuses on “the importance of the wonder of the ocean and how it is our life source”. This year, however, the day will be celebrated virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The day is observed in South Africa and is often used to highlight the challenges faced when dealing with marine pollution. One such issue is the percentage of microplastics along South African shores.

According to the Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Programme of the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Programme, “plastic particles both leach chemicals and absorb others from the environment”.

State of the ocean

Two Oceans Aquariums report that “there are as many as 51 trillion pieces of microplastic in our oceans; more than 500 times the number of stars in our galaxy”.

UN Environment executive director and under-secretary-general Erik Solheim says plastics amount to 80% of all litter found in the oceans:

“At the rate at which we are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags, cups and straws after a single-use, by 2050 we will have more plastics in the oceans than fish”. 

Furthermore, less than 14% of plastic produced is recycled – everything else ends up in landfills or the ocean.

Microplastics in turtles

Microplastics are consumed by organisms at the bottom of the food chain, which are then consumed by predators, which leads to bioaccumulation – the gradual accumulation of substances in an organism.

The latest figures show that 71% of turtles rescued along South Africans coastlines have ingested microplastics, the highest percentage to date. The Rehabilitation Programme conservation manager, Talitha Noble, tells Times Live:

“I’ve been in turtle rehabilitation for five to six years and I’ve never seen as many microplastics as we see now.”

Noble explains that turtle hatchlings wash up kilometres away from their natural feeding grounds. They mistake microplastics for seagrass, and often die when ingesting large pieces.