Mad as a Marine Biologist

High-res mothernaturenetwork: Sea trash spiraling out of control, study finds Earth now has five or six major ocean garbage patches, and new research suggests they’ll continue growing for ‘at least the next thousand years.’ Sad and unsurprising news. Every major ocean gyre is trapping plastic, and there’s no discernable solution to this international problem. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try.  REFUSE. REUSE. REDUCE. RECYCLE. There’s a fourth R, people. Just say no.  And let’s support efforts to develop real biodegradable plastic, not just degradable plastic that breaks down into bits so small we don’t care about them any more. Because they are still there. 

mothernaturenetwork:

Sea trash spiraling out of control, study finds
Earth now has five or six major ocean garbage patches, and new research suggests they’ll continue growing for ‘at least the next thousand years.’
Sad and unsurprising news. Every major ocean gyre is trapping plastic, and there’s no discernable solution to this international problem. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try. 
REFUSE. REUSE. REDUCE. RECYCLE. There’s a fourth R, people. Just say no. 
And let’s support efforts to develop real biodegradable plastic, not just degradable plastic that breaks down into bits so small we don’t care about them any more. Because they are still there. 
Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) esophagi. *Shudders* I want to tell you about how my nightmares from now on will have me stuck in a room made out of Leatherback esophagi, but the conservationist in me wins: Leatherbacks feed almost entirely on Jellyfish. Plastic bags floating in the water look like jellyfish. I can attest to this - having flapped in panic out of the way of a plastic bag on a dive, only to realise what it was, and check to see if any other divers saw my mistake, and then pick up the bag.  Now imagine a plastic bag caught on those spines. That’s not going to dislodge easily. No, it’s more likely to cause suffocation and starvation. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not our nightmare. It’s theirs. And it’s come true. 

Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) esophagi. *Shudders*

I want to tell you about how my nightmares from now on will have me stuck in a room made out of Leatherback esophagi, but the conservationist in me wins:

Leatherbacks feed almost entirely on Jellyfish. Plastic bags floating in the water look like jellyfish. I can attest to this - having flapped in panic out of the way of a plastic bag on a dive, only to realise what it was, and check to see if any other divers saw my mistake, and then pick up the bag. 

Now imagine a plastic bag caught on those spines. That’s not going to dislodge easily. No, it’s more likely to cause suffocation and starvation. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not our nightmare. It’s theirs. And it’s come true. 

High-res mothernaturenetwork: Amount of plastic trash in oceans may be ‘vastly’ underestimatedPlastic waste can wreak havoc on an ecosystem, including harming fish and carrying invasive bacteria. Plastic waste can wreak havoc on an ecosystem, harming fish and other organisms that ingest it, possibly even degrading a fish’s liver; the trashy bits also make nice homes for bacteria and algae that get carried to other areas of the ocean where they could be invasive or cause other problems.

mothernaturenetwork:

Amount of plastic trash in oceans may be ‘vastly’ underestimated
Plastic waste can wreak havoc on an ecosystem, including harming fish and carrying invasive bacteria.

Plastic waste can wreak havoc on an ecosystem, harming fish and other organisms that ingest it, possibly even degrading a fish’s liver; the trashy bits also make nice homes for bacteria and algae that get carried to other areas of the ocean where they could be invasive or cause other problems.

mad-as-a-marine-biologist:

Clean up dive with Green Fins Philippines and SeaView Dive Centre - 11 divers removed 34kg of rubbish from Tamaraw Reef in White Beach, PG, Philippines. 

Appreciate the fact that I had to ignore several nudibranchs for the clean up. Personal sacrifices were made, for shiz.  

Here it is, again, re-uploaded to the Green Fins YouTube Channel.