How Can We Help?

Seeing that marine litter begins with us, it is out responsibility, as a society and also as individuals to do as much as we can to reduce and eventually bring marine litter to an end. The severe impacts that it has on our economic and social well beings as a society should also be a driving factor in changing our littering ways and trying to resolve our marine litter problem.

As a society we can do a lot to try and prevent marine litter from becoming a worst problem. One way is to implement and enforce strict laws that would prevent citizens from littering, not only on or close to the coastline but also throughout the country because litter far away from the beaches has a tendency to travel there. More bins can also be placed strategically for proper disposal of garbage. Setting up recycling bins throughout the country and proper garbage collection and disposal should be practiced.

As individuals we there is also a lot we can do. We can practice proper waste disposal habits. Reduce, reuse and recycle the plastics that we use. We can take part in beach clean ups, community clean ups or even when we see trash pick it up. Proper utilization of bins can also reduce the prevalence of marine litter.

Garbage Patches and Gyres

Contrary to the term garbage "patch" used to describe this phenomenon, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not just a patch of garbage floating around in the Pacific Ocean. You might picture this garbage patch to be plastic bottles and other large pieces of plastic floating around, forming something like an island. That is not at all true! Although there are pieces of large plastic floating in the patch, it is mostly made up of tiny pieces plastic called micro-plastics that are usually around 5mm in size. These micro-plastics account for around 70% of the plastic in the ocean. This is due to the breakdown of the larger plastics via wave action and photo degradation. So therefore you can pass through a garbage patch in a vessel and not even know it.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is also not the only garbage patch in the ocean. Garbage patches form in the ocean due to slow moving circular currents called gyres. These gyres cause garbage to accumulate in high densities within it. There are five major gyres that can  be found in the world's oceans. They are the North Pacific, South Pacific, North Atlantic, South Atlantic and the Indian subtropical gyres. Also, gyres are not the places in the ocean that garbage can be found however, they are just found here in higher densities that in other regions.

The Impacts Marine Litter Has On The Environment

The most commonly thought of impacts of marine litter is the entanglement of marine life and also the ingestion of the trash. However, there are many more impacts of marine litter, not only on the aquatic environment but also on human life.

Marine debris can end up on the sea bed, suffocating plants and breaking corals. The oceans current's also move trash, therefore the problem of invasive species can occur by the movement of the invasive species using the trash as a vessel to move from one coast to another. Boats also can suffer damage when nets get entangled in their propellers and they run into large pieces of garbage.

On the shore, firstly, garbage is very unsightly and can cause loss of tourism activity, lowering the country's revenue. Fisheries and fishermen also lose out when fish is trapped by fishing gear that was lost at sea. On the other hand pieces of broken glass and other sharp things can cause bodily damage to not only the animals but to humans. When cleaning up the sea shores a method called raking is used. This method employs tractors that are used to scoop up the garbage on the shore. This method of removal can result in erosion of the shoreline, and severe destruction of nesting sites and aquatic vegetation.

Where Does Marine Litter Come From...

There are many sources of marine litter. When we attend beaches and see litter lying around on the floor that is usually from improper waste disposal. These items then enter the waters, usually via the wind. Ocean currents take these pieces of litter all around the globe, therefore litter found in the ocean can be from anywhere in the world. Around 10% of marine litter is from discarded fishing gear. Fishing gear can often be let go by boats unintentionally and they remain in the water, continuing to pose a threat to the marine life. Even though most of our litter is disposed of inland, a percentage of this ends up in the ocean also due improper waste disposal and even rivers or wind carrying them to the sea. Some marine litter, however, is unintentional. Storms and raging seas often times cause ships that carry cargo to crash and the contents of the ships then ends up into the ocean and is left to  float around. Bottom line, all marine litter is caused by some sort of HUMAN ACTIVITY.

What Is Marine Litter...

Marine litter, marine debris, sea trash, what ever you would like to call it, poses a serious threat to marine life and their habitats. According to the United Nations Environmental Programme it can classified as any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in the marine and the coastal environment. it can consist of anything that is anthropologically made or used that was discarded into the coastal or marine habitat.
The main pollutant when dealing with marine litter is plastic. Even though there are many other pollutants, eg. clothe, glass, metal, etc. plastics account for 60% of the pollution. It is estimated that over 13, 000 pieces of plastic litter float on every square kilometer of ocean and this figure continues to grow. 70% of this litter ends up on the sea bed making it easier for animals to consume them. When animals consume the trash they suffocate and die, their body then decomposes faster than the pollutant leaving it exposed once more to be consumed by other animals and the cycle continues until the pollutant decomposes, which in many cases is several years.

Why I Chose This Degree and Topic

Hey, my name is Tumika Lindsay and I am currently a student at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus. I am currently pursuing my BSc in Environmental Science and Sustainable Technology. I attended Northeastern College, Sangre Grande for seven years, completing my advanced level education in June 2015.

Turtle washed ashore from
suffocating on plastic

At school I always seems to gravitate to things not only pertaining to marine culture, but to anything that involved the environment. I would say that my indulgence in the subject Environmental Science at the sixth form level and being the president of my Alma-mater's Hiking Club further drove my passion for things of the environment and therefore influenced my choice of this degree.

All my life I have been considered what many would call a 'beach bum' but I rather to refer to myself as a 'beach baby'. I lived in a coastal village with my house being less than a five minutes walk to the beach and to my recollection, every moment that it was possible for me to be at the beach, I was there. I have seen first hand the effects that marine litter can have on marine life and their habitats, having seen seagulls choking from plastic around their necks, turtles being washed ashore because they ingested some form of garbage and suffocated and baby leather-backs not being able to make their way to the water because they were blocked by garbage lining the shore. Having experienced these issues first hand is what motivated me to choose this topic. Hopefully this blog would further spread awareness on the effects of marine litter on marine life and their habitats and inveigle the public to significantly reduce, if not completely end their dumping habits in coastal regions.

Image showing gull with
plastic around its neck