The Harmful Effects of an Ocean Pollution to Marine Life and Human Health

Have you ever littered on the beach and have thought about the negative impacts it will cause? A majority of humans do not think about the lives of others who are non-human-like sea creatures, whales, organisms, fundamentally marine animals. We as humans do what is best for us and our kind and tend to see the ocean as a bin. Trash is a big issue that is affecting the world of biodiversity, and every year, the amount of waste is building up to a point where it is becoming a challenge to clean. Although the ocean is big enough to withhold human rubbish, we are eradicating the lives of marine animals. Us humans are what the cause of there being rubbish in the Ocean, the ones that are affecting marine animals by entanglements, food source, the ocean water, and creating dead zones, which is suffering the consequences of our actions and soon we will be following in the footsteps of suffrage.

The trash in our ocean has always been an issue, and the first discovery was made in 1997 by Charles Moore, an environmentalist, boat captain, and an oceanographer. He first noticed an island, and upon closer inspection, he saw that there was prevalence plastic junk. Junk that was bundled up, making it seem like an isolated island. “The floating trash heap, ” which Charles refers to it as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” spans from the West Coast of North America to Japan and is between Japan, Hawaii and California State. It is a parcel that is claimed to be ”twice the size of Texas” and “brimming with microscopic plastic particles,” which still exists in the 21st century (The Politics of the Ocean, page 95).

But, who are the ones who caused the patch? They are the ones who created the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” in the first place, for example, corporations, which throws waste more than the average person because they tend to dispose rubbish into the ocean instead of throwing it the proper way. Then there is us human beings who are another cause as to why there is much waste because of how we litter, and some are trying to fix the problem, but something tremendous will take years. What is ascertained to be mainly in the spot are plastic bottles, glass, bottle caps, bottles, fishing nets and according Denchak, Melissa “single-use grocery bags, water bottles, drinking straws, and yogurt containers, among eight million metric tons of plastic items we toss (instead of recycling), that won’t biodegrade” (nrdc.org). It means that plastic tends to float in the ocean for more than a year because plastic does not dissolve like cardboard and paper.

More rubbish that is produced by companies, the harder it will get having the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” cleaned. Even though trash is thrown far from the parcel, current waves drag trash towards it. That is due to the circular currents of the ocean that is formed by the planet's pattern. Although the patch is big enough to separate into two parts or smaller groups and float somewhere else, that is not possible. The reason is that the center of the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is stable and calm while the circular of it draws debris into the center harming the lives of the world of biodiversity by putting them in danger.

Furthermore, marine animals like swimming in their habitat as they should be, but end up entangled in human waste that ends up resulting in their death. An example of a marine animal is a Pinnipeds, who are “generally observed to be entangled around the head and appendages in net fragments, monofilament line, packing straps, rope, and rubber products” (Marine Debris Program). After being entangled, they would swim off in hopes that it can dissolve on its own, find ways to untangle themselves or for us to notice and help, but it ends up killing them either by suffocation, starvation or drowning. Entanglement affects all age classes for these species, but juveniles and subadults always end up being the ones trapped in our rubbish. It is a similar situation towards children who eat things they are not supposed to and end up rushed into a hospital, but children get the help that is needed right away, and marine animals do not.

Another example is the bottlenose dolphins that become entangled in numerous forms of marine debris that includes ”net fragments, monofilament line, rubber gaskets, rope, and clothes” (Marine Debris Program). Then there are the Cetaceans that often suffer from gastrointestinal blockage due to ingesting nonplastics- a food source for them. Then with sperm whales, when a blockage occurs, it leads towards malnutrition, starvation, and gastric rupture from ingesting large amounts of debris. Sadly, they are not the only ones being affected by humanity; it endangers creatures big and small from seabirds, and whales, to tiny seahorses that live corals.

Moreover, there has been news, videos, and photos that I have seen demonstrating trash to be the cause of death of whales, seagulls, turtles, and more because they confuse it as a food source. A great example is a sea turtle, who sees the plastic as a jellyfish because of the similarity of both being a transparent white color. If I were a turtle, I would eat the plastic as well because it looks like a jellyfish and the hunger does not allow one to think. So what happens after a turtle eats the plastic? The sea creature will end up dying, but what causes this is the fact such items can become “lodged while strands of the plastic extend into the gastric system, exposing organs to an onslaught of digestive fluids” (Marine Debris Program).

Unfortunately, sea turtles are not the only ones consuming rubbish, Myctophids, and “lantern fish” ingest “broken-down particles, that could send harmful chemicals up to the food chain, endangering larger fish” (The Politics of the Ocean, page 95). Chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which is carbon and hydrogen that are composed of multiple aromatic rings found in particles that Myctophids and “lantern fish” eat. Then, there are Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) a group of oily liquid and solids that are very resistant to extreme temperatures and pressure. When absorbed by animals, it causes diseases, and problems in organs system, thus leading to their death, but some people do not see this as an issue and continue to throw waste into the Ocean.

Because of trash in the ocean, there are dead zones that have been abandoned by biodiversity. That is because of algae absorbing toxic and oxygen killing life of animals in the ocean. Algae play a big role in the ocean, they are the ones providing oxygen for the biodiversity world. They are similar like trees because they are the main source of oxygen for humans. According to Leonard, who is a fisherman, “every summer, the dead zone grows, snuffing out more fish, crabs, and other animals” (Bioscience). One of the dead zones he is referring to is the Gulf of Mexico because of how there is no oxygen. One of the sea creatures that run away from their habitat is the Jubilee, because they “sense the low oxygen levels and scuttle away to avoid suffocating” (Bioscience). Apart from those creatures are the bottom- dwelling fish and crustaceans. They are organisms that can never escape on time and end up trapped in poor oxygen waters leaving them with no other option, but to go to the edge of beaches in order to breath.

Apart from organism are the jubilee- affected blue crabs are seen “cling to pillings, blowing bubbles in and out of their mouths” (Bioscience). Then there are the flounders, a group of flatfish, tend to lay by the edge of the water gulping for air in hopes of having oxygen pass over their gills. Another marine life that is observed by humans at beaches are eels and they always have their tail buried into moist sand because they are trying to breath. Boesch Donald, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environment studies says the “expanding dead zone could be changing the entire ecosystem,” which is true because it already is (Bioscience). Most animals that live in this area end up dying or leaving, making the place deserted like the city of Fukushima in Japan. This is the outcome of human rubbish all because they are lazy in throwing their trash the proper way, are cheap in hiring others to throw the trash for them or do not care and have no heart for the life of others that is not their own species, us humans.

However, there has been opposition like corporations defending their ways in dumping trash into the ocean and not seeing anything wrong with it. But, why are corporations always by the coast and their sewage pointing directly into the sea? I have observed when visiting beaches close by million dollar industries, that they like to be located by the sea because of the easy access in dumping waste into an open area that is big enough to withhold waste instead of paying trash companies to pick the dump for them. Corporations do not see the issue. They see the ocean being made up of 70 percent water, and within that 70 percent, waste vanishing deep into the sea. That may be true on some occasions, but like said before, it is dependable whether it is plastic or not because plastic does not disintegrate by small bacteria that eat decompositions. Corporations also do not think about the impact of the ocean water and according to Lou, Michelle “2,585 beaches had bacteria levels that exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency's” (CNN).

Among one of those beaches is in Los Angeles, California, which is called Cabrillo and it has a recreational water illnesses. Humans who swim in this beach and come into contact with the contaminated water can develop gastrointes. Dr. Alison Huffstetler who is a physician at the University of Georgetown school of medicine has advice people visiting beaches in “taking general precautions like washing hands and feet after getting out of the water and avoiding swallowing ocean water” (CNN). As for animals that live in those beaches, they end up suffocating from lack of oxygen in the sea. This is why trash in our ocean is a big issue because of all the negative impacts that it is causing and corporations should realize that their ways are wrong.

There are a variety of facts us human beings refuse to acknowledge like the ones previously mentioned and coming to the terms of our actions. Even though, one piece of trash does not seem like a lot, that single part of dumpster can make a big difference in the biodiversity environment and help reduce waste in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Also, the amount of animals that end up washed ashore dead with plastic or fishing nets entangled on them is saddening because we could have prevented that from happening. Same case scenario with them eating plastic that contain chemicals and dying all because they ate something that was thought to be their food source. Then their are the dead zones that have been created by mankind.

Further on, trash contaminates our oceans us, who are swimming in beaches and marine animals. As for littering, there were some occasions where I have made human errors and have felt guilty knowing that an animal will my trash, get stuck on it, or end up affecting their water, which will eventually die because of my fault. As the years go by and we do not do anything about human rubbish, marine animals will eventually become extinct and soon we will follow with them.