Whale found dying off coast of Norway with 30 plastic bags in its stomach


“When plastic ingestion occurs, it blocks the digestive tract, gets lodged in animals windpipes cutting airflow causing suffocation, or fills the stomach, resulting in malnutrition, starvation and potentially death. Indeed, it is found that debris often accumulates in the animals’ gut and give a false sense of fullness, causing the animal to stop eating and slowly starve to death.” —Captions and Photo: © SAF — Coastal Care

Excerpts;

Scientists in Norway found more than 30 plastic bags and other plastic waste inside the stomach of a whale stranded off the coast…

Read Full Article; Telegraph UK (02-03-2017)

New UN report finds marine debris harming more than 800 species, costing countries millions; United Nations (12-05-2016)

Kenya: Marine debris threaten to suffocate sea animals; The Star Kenya (01-24-2017)
Marine researchers spotted a dolphin suffocating in a plastic bag last week in Watamu, Kenya. The incident, the first to be witnessed there, has raised concern on the safety of the millions of sea animals in the Indian Ocean waters due to the increased cases of plastic waste.

60% of Loggerhead Turtles Stranded on Beaches in South Africa Had Ingested Plastic; EcoWatch (05-031-2016)

The Plastic Found In a Single Turtle’s Stomach, Independent UK (03-24-2011)

Death by Plastic: Is Ocean Plastic Garbage Killing Whales?, Independent UK

90 Percent of Seabirds Have Plastic in Their Stomachs, Newsweek (09-01-2015)

Ocean Plastic is Likely Disappearing Into the Food Chain, New Study Indicates, Guardian UK (02-13-2015)

Biodegradable Plastics Are Not the Answer to Reducing Marine Litter, UN News Center (11-23-2015)
Widespread adoption of products labelled ‘biodegradable’ will not significantly decrease the volume of plastic entering the ocean or the physical and chemical risks that plastics pose to marine environment, concluded a UN report released today…

“Midway.” A Love Story for our Time from the Heart of the Pacific”—By Chris Jordan, Midway Film; (04-01-2015)
A shocking film from Midway Island in the North Pacific Ocean, by Midway Film.

Plastic Pollution / When The Mermaids Cry: The Great Plastic Tide, Coastal Care
“The unprecedented plastic waste tide plaguing our oceans and shores, can become as limited as our chosen relationship with plastics, which involves a dramatic behavioral change on our part…”

Chris Jordan Photography
“© Midway: Message from the Gyre (2009),” from the Midway Series. Photograph courtesy of © Chris Jordan for Coastal Care’s Photo Of The Month, August 2010.

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