This causes them to starve and eventually die. 98% of Laysan Albatross chicks die because of eating plastic. Fish Scientists say that organisms residing at the Mariana Trench showed traces of plastics in their stomach. As well as being an eyesore when visible, this litter is deadly for marine animals. And even the deepest sea creatures can’t escape plastic pollution; samples taken by scientists at the Scottish Association for Marine Science off the Western Isles found that 48% of creatures had plastic in them, at a depth of 2,000 m. Microplastics are a major part of the issue. Millions of birds are killed each year. Other birds mistake bits of plastic for prey and thus eat them. 98% of albatrosses have ingested plastic , and 40% of their chicks died when they are fed this by their parents. Plastic waste is littering our oceans and threatening the lives of millions of marine animals. The list is so long that we cannot exhaust it in one article. Plastic found inside birds includes bags, bottle caps and tiny bits that have been worn broken down by the sun and waves. They crawl through plastic on the way to the ocean as hatchlings, swim through it while migrating, confuse it for jellyfish (one of their favorite foods), and then crawl back through it as adults. Sea Birds Birds : 100,000s sea birds die every year because they are mistaking plastic for food and ingesting it. Seals, whales, dolphins, seabirds, fish, crabs and many other sea animals are dying and becoming sick because of this deadly environmental concern. OCEAN PLASTICS POLLUTION A Global Tragedy for Our Oceans and Sea Life. Even sea animals living at the deepest part of the ocean are ingesting plastics. Billions of pounds of plastic can be found in swirling convergences that make up about 40 percent of the world's ocean surfaces. 1. Sea turtles are affected by plastic during every stage of their life. A staggering number of animals die as a result of plastic pollution in the marine environment. Seals, whales, dolphins, seabirds, fish, crabs and many other sea animals are dying and becoming sick because of this deadly environmental concern. Plastic waste is littering our oceans and threatening the lives of millions of marine animals. Plastic accumulating in our oceans and on our beaches has become a global crisis. Birds: Two-thirds of all seabird species are affected, representing 56% of all seabird species. From the sampled 100 plastic items washed ashore 80% contained peckmarks, which were suggested to have been done by northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) at sea and other birds, such as gulls, when … This toxin mimics hormones and mess up bodily processes. Some types of plastics resemble natural materials floating on the sea surface: for example Styrofoam and other spongious plastic have observed to contain similar peckmarks than cuttlebones in the North Sea. Millions of birds are killed each year. This causes them to starve and eventually die. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic which come from larger plastics that have degraded over time. Ocean Plastic & Sea Turtles. When the sea birds eat this plastic it fills their stomachs which causes them to eat less food. What follows is a brief discussion of impacts on some of the most affected marine creatures. 98% of Laysan Albatross chicks die because of eating plastic. The Species Most Affected by Plastic Pollution in Marine Life. Birds like albatrosses fly low over the sea, with their beaks skimming the water – when the birds’ beaks scoop up water, tiny sea creatures and plastic waste floating on the ocean are both swallowed. Moreover, plastics contain toxins like phthalates. They are made of robust plastic materials that, for an array of reasons, have ended up in the sea. Plastics found in stomachs of deepest sea creatures ... From sea to plate: how plastic got into our fish. As many as nine out of 10 of the world’s seabirds are likely to have pieces of plastic in their guts, a new study estimates. An estimated 10% of all marine debris is lost or abandoned fishing gear, comprised mainly of nets, ropes, lines and traps. Sea Birds Birds : 100,000s sea birds die every year because they are mistaking plastic for food and ingesting it. In birds, phthalates cause thinning of egg shells. When the sea birds eat this plastic it fills their stomachs which causes them to eat less food.