Tragedy: Whales are eating hundreds and thousands of plastic trash every day

Perhaps many people already know, one of the most pressing environmental problems that people need to solve is the huge amount of waste that is released to the ocean every year.

According to the latest statistics, large marine organisms are suffering from plastic scooping every day, causing unpredictable effects.

Perhaps many people already know, one of the most pressing environmental problems that people need to solve is the amount of waste released to the ocean each year. In particular, up to millions of tons of plastic waste.

And according to a recent study, this story is becoming more urgent than ever. Experts have warned that large marine creatures such as whales are swallowing hundreds of pieces of plastic waste every day, seriously affecting.

Picture 1 of Tragedy: Whales are eating hundreds and thousands of plastic trash every day

Every year, millions of tons of plastic waste are brought to the oceans.

Specifically, the expert group from Murdoch University (Australia) has concluded that plastic garbage has a huge impact on animals that have a "filter" mechanism, such as whales and rays. Every day they suck thousands of liters of water into the abdomen, then use the teeth to retain food. And also in the process, they accidentally swallowed hundreds more.

The highest risk groups are those living in polluted marine areas, such as the Coral Triangle, the Bay of Bengal, Gulf of Mexico, and much of the Mediterranean Sea.

But where does this conclusion come from? It all started from the rare whale shark on the Baja California peninsula. It is also a species that has a " filtered" diet, and experts have recently confirmed that the animal swallowed 171 plastic junk every day.

According to the survey, for every water mass in the sea around the peninsula, there are about 0.7 pieces of plastic waste. But experts worry that whales in some other areas can swallow thousands of pieces of plastic every day.

The impact of plastic garbage on the organism is infinite. As reported in Trends in Ecology & Evolution magazine, undigested plastic molecules affect the reproductive and developmental ability of the organism, if accumulated enough for years.

Picture 2 of Tragedy: Whales are eating hundreds and thousands of plastic trash every day

A work illustrating whales are having to swallow hundreds and thousands of pieces of trash every day.

"In fact, although there are many studies on micro plastics on the ocean, there are very few studies evaluating the impact on large organisms" - study author Elitza Germanov.

"We are trying to appreciate the scale of this story."

"But the reality is clear, that micro-plastic particles are capable of reducing the number of species, including those that live very long but have few children."

In December 2017, there were many studies warning of the threat coming from plastic garbage that can push many whales and dolphins to the brink of extinction.

"Thousands of tons of" disposable "plastic garbage have drifted to the oceans, killing thousands of whales, dolphins and many other animals," said Sally Hamilton, Orca research project manager.

Besides, there is indiscriminate fishing. Dolphins, sharks are caught in fishermen's nets and suffocate to death. However, only a few cases were reported. That is what we know is just the tip of the iceberg.

Update 17 December 2018
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