While healthy oceans are critical to human survival, providing most of the oxygen we breathe they are under threat by plastic pollution on a massive scale.
According to the United Nations Environmental Programme around eight-million tonnes of plastic ends up in the oceans each year. This is the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic being dumped into the ocean every minute. Dr Simon Elwen, Founder and Principal Scientist at Sea Search, a Cape Town-based organisation that conducts internationally recognised research in the marine realm, says reducing plastic usage is fundamental.Too much plastic in the environment
“Most of the plastic that we use is unnecessary,” he says. “As consumers, we need to start saying no to plastic straws. We need to say no to single-use plastics. The world is changing, and we need to do the right thing.” With support from the Ford Wildlife Foundation, Sea Search focuses on marine mammal research in South Africa and Namibia. Their efforts include, research output, education, and student training, with the principal aim of promoting conservation. Plastic pollution, notes Elwen, has become a common and overarching problem.“In the research that we have done, in the whale strandings that we have looked at, and the seal entanglements that we have seen, it is clear there is just too much plastic in the environment,” he continues. “We’ve had dolphins with plastic cups in their throats, and so many seals and dolphins wrapped in fishing line.”
