Help save marine life on #WorldOceansDay

The ocean includes different deadly creatures but the most deadliest and the number one cause of death in the sea is plastic.

This year, on Thursday 8 June the world will unite on #WorldOceansDay to create awareness and begin clean-up programmes to remove the plastic they find on beaches. Events will be held around Africa including Durban. On 8 June, uShaka Sea World will be celebrating World Oceans Day in its Turtle area, where visitors will find out how plastic impacts on turtles in the oceans.

But why all the fuss you might ask.

DID YOU KNOW:

• An estimated 5-13 million tons of plastic enters our oceans each year from land-based sources.

• Plastic debris in the area popularly known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” has increased by 100 times in the past 40 years.^[14] Scientists have calculated that 275 million metric tons (MT) of plastic waste was generated in 192 coastal countries in 2010, with 4.8 to 12.7 million MT entering the ocean.

• 50 to 80 per cent of dead sea turtles have ingested plastic. Plastic bags, which resemble jellyfish, are the most commonly found item in sea turtles’ stomachs.

Find more facts on beachapedia.org

Dudu Vilane, senior education officer at Wessa said, “Our oceans are no dumping site. Ever wondered what happens to all the litter, especially plastic thrown in the sea? The plastic broken into small pieces of plastic often get ingested by fish, sea birds, sea urchins, and lots of other marine animals thinking its food. While turtles would go for clear plastic in the water as they confuse it to their favourite food- jellyfish.”

READ: Fish kill in Karridene river ‘due to salinity’

Since it take more than hundred years for plastic to break down, recycling it can save the environment and also our lives. So please think before you throw that plastic away, it’s a death sentence for animals and a job opportunity for us, if recycled.

The Plastic age: The scary truth of plastic

DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics.
To receive news links via WhatsApp, send an invite to 061 876 3179
The Southlands Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest – why not join us there?