>> Site Map >> News
Marine Debris and Sea Garbage Causes Harm to Fish and People
#8 - 0--bajatrash--Marine Debris and Sea Garbage Causes Harm to Fish and People--2007-11-22 01:07:19
#
SOME IMPORTANT FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW
By Maria Garcia Obrador
How Marine Debris Harms Wildlife Entanglement
Common items like fishing line, strapping bands and six-pack rings can hamper the mobility of marine animals. Once entangled, animals have trouble eating, breathing or swimming, all of which can have fatal results. Plastics take hundreds of years to breakdown and may continue to trap and kill animals year after year.
Ingestion
Birds, fish and mammals often mistake plastic for food. Some birds even feed it to their young. With plastic filling their stomachs, animals have a false feeling of being full, and may die of starvation. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, one of their favorite foods. Even gray whales have been found dead with plastic bags and sheeting in their stomachs.
How Marine Debris Harms People
Beachgoers can cut themselves on glass and metal left on the beach. Marine debris also endangers the safety and livelihood of fishermen and recreational boaters. Nets and monofilament fishing line can obstruct propellers and plastic sheeting and bags can block cooling intakes. Such damage is hazardous and costly in terms of repair and lost fishing time. In one Oregon port, a survey revealed that 58 percent of fishermen had experienced equipm ent damage due to marine debris. Their average repair cost was $2,725.
--comments-->0--274--5
