“Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.� - Sylvia A. Earle Our ocean provides us with a superfluity of resources & opportunities and it can be so easy to take it for granted. World Oceans Day falls on June 8th 2018 and is a global day of ocean celebrations and collaboration for a better blue future. No matter when you read this or where you live, we hope you take this opportunity to help take a step towards protecting our precious ocean. This year, the spotlight is being shined on preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean.
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FUN FACTS ABOUT OUR OCEAN According to the NOAA, 95% of our ocean remains unexplored and up to 91% of all ocean species have yet to be classified. 90% of all volcanic activity occurs in the ocean. Half of United States territory lies in the ocean. It takes 1000 years for water to make one whole loop around the world along the global ocean conveyor belt. Some marine life like jellyfish and horseshoe crabs have been around for longer than dinosaurs.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL #14 This SDG is all about working to conserve and sustainably use the world’s oceans, seas, and marine resources. By coming together to #BeatPlasticPollution, we will take a huge step towards achieving this goal. 3
WHY IS OUR OCEAN SO IMPORTANT? All plants living in the ocean (e.g. algal plankton, kelp, and phytoplankton) release oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. As a result, the ocean produces up to 70% of the oxygen we breathe.
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Our ocean is also a massive carbon sink (takes in more than it releases) and has taken in more
CO2
than 93% of all the excess heat from our greenhouse gases since 1955. Carbon Dioxide from our atmosphere dissolves and is absorbed every time the ocean water meets air. Around 30% of all our carbon emissions are absorbed by the ocean and most of Earth’s carbon is stored in ocean vegetation, coral, rocks, and shells.
On top of this, the ocean also plays a huge role in controlling and maintaining our climate by redistributing heat. The ocean conveyor belt helps to move warm water from the equator to the Earth’s poles, while also transporting cold water from the poles to the equator. At the equator, the water is warmer as there is an energy surplus (more incoming energy from the sun than outgoing energy), whereas at the poles the water is colder as there is an energy deficit (more outgoing energy than incoming solar radiation).
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Over 3.5 billion people depend on seafood from the ocean as their main source of nourishment.
New sources of medicine are constantly being derived from the diverse organisms in our ocean. This is especially important as on-land sources are getting harder to find.
Our ocean also facilitates 90% of all international trade by providing easy and quick routes for ships to take. Including everything from fisheries to tourism, the ocean has a whopping estimated economic value of USD 24 trillion.
Bajau Laut The Bajau Laut community, also known as “sea gypsies�, are a group of nomads who roam around the Coral Triangle in the western Pacific Ocean. The sea gypsies are stateless, and live on boathouses or stilt houses in the ocean. They are rarely on land and rely totally on the ocean for sustenance and income. The Bajau are also amazing at fishing without any proper equipment and it has been said that they can free dive down to depths of more than 60m while holding their breath for up to 13 minutes. Healthy oceans are especially important for communities like Bajau Laut as every single aspect of their lives revolves around and depends directly on the ocean.
Photos by Terence Lim
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THE PLASTIC POLL Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic in our environment that affects habitats, wildlife, or humans By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight.
8 billion kgs of plastic enters our ocean every year. There are more microplastics in the ocean than stars in the Milky Way. George Stoyle/Marine Photobank.
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UTION PROBLEM Around 2 million plastic bags are distributed worldwide every minute. Each bag is only used for an average of 12 minutes before being thrown “away�.
Plastic products can be found within the deepest and most remote areas of the ocean.
Every piece of plastic ever made still exists. 44% of all plastic has been manufactured since 2000. 7
Why do we use so much plastic? Relatively cheap to produce Light Durable Flexible Versatile It is easy for us to forget about the plastic we use once we throw it "away�
Sandy Britain, Sustainable Coastlines:Marine Photobank
Microplastics are pieces of plastic less than 5mm long/wide. Primary microplastics were intentionally made that size i.e. microfibres or microbeads. Secondary microplastics exist as a result of larger pieces of plastic degrading. According to the UN, up to 51 trillion microplastic particles are floating in our ocean.
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90% of all plastic that ends up in our ocean comes from these 10 rivers: 1. Yangtze River 2. Indus River 3. Yellow River 4. Hai He River 5. Nile River
6. Ganges River 7. Pearl River 8. Amur River 9. Niger River 10. Mekong River via SEEKER/ Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research
In 2010, Malaysia contributed between 0.14 and 0.37 million tonnes of plastic into the ocean. This left us ranked as the 8th worst plastic pollution offender in the world.
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HOW PLASTIC GETS TO OUR OCEAN Washed down our drains ‣
Microbeads found in a range of beauty & hygiene products as well as microfibres released when we wash our clothes are so tiny that they are easily missed by water treatment filters
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Other plastic items that are sadly commonly flushed, including sanitary products, q-tips, and wet wipes, also find their way through water treatment plants as they are light and float on the surface past filters
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The treated wastewater is then discharged into local waterways where it can quickly make its way to our ocean as virtually every body of water and drain eventually meets our ocean
Enters our drainage networks ‣
91% of our plastic waste is not recycled.
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While being transported, waiting to be collected, or sitting in landfills, plastic can be very easily blown by the wind into drains
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Litter that is dropped in places like roads and sidewalks is also at risk of being blown into our drains
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Once rubbish reaches our drainage networks, it will inevitably find its way to our ocean
Direct dumping/leakage ‣
Beachgoers may leave their rubbish along the sand, leaving it to enter the water when waves come in
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Communities living by the ocean/rivers/streams may also directly dump their rubbish into the water
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A gyre is a huge system of circular ocean currents that exist as a result of wind patterns and the rotational forces of the Earth. There are 5 major gyres across the world. Once it enters the water, the ocean currents sweep plastic towards the centre of the gyre where debris becomes trapped in circulation and a garbage patch is eventually formed. Garbage patches have been likened to massive areas of “plastic soup”.
North Pacific Gyre Home to the world’s largest accumulation of plastic, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (aka the Pacific Trash Vortex). This patch is thought to be three times the size of France.
South Pacific Gyre
North Atlantic Gyre The North Atlantic Garbage Patch contains about 200,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre of ocean.
Indian Ocean Gyre
South Atlantic Gyre 11
EFFECTS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION Plastic is often mistaken for food, due to its appearance and smell, and around 700 different marine species have ingested plastic. As it is indigestible, plastic accumulates in the animal's stomach until its digestive tract is eventually blocked. Sea animals are also easily entangled and trapped in plastic items such as ghost nets and six pack rings. More than 1 million sea birds, 100000 sea mammals, 1000 sea turtles and countless more million fish die every year because of plastic in the ocean.
When plastic is made, phthalate plasticisers such as BPA, DINP, or PBDE are commonly added to improve the durability of it. As the plastic begins to photodegrade in the presence of UV rays, it leaches these toxic additives into the water. While the effects are still being discovered, phthalates are known to impact reproductive and hormone systems in both humans and marine life.
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Tiny zooplankton consume microplastics, forage fish feed on zooplankton, larger predators prey on forage fish and so on... As a result, bits of plastic bioaccumulate up the food chain before the tainted seafood containing plastic reaches our plates. Shellfish lovers are thought to consume around 11000 pieces of microplastic per year while a study in California and Indonesia found that around 25% of fish sold in markets contains plastic.
The presence of plastic around reefs raises the chance of corals catching a disease to a whopping 89%. Plastic waste carries a lot of bacteria and pathogens which are a huge danger while the plastic could also block necessary sunlight from reaching the reef.
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SOME PLASTIC POLLUTION SOLUTIONS Raise awareness
Read more on plastic pollution and learn about how it affects you and your community Share what you’ve learnt with everyone around you Use your voice! Spread the word! Make sure people know this problem exists.
Rethink & reform Steer away from single-use plastics and inspire others to do the same. Some alternative options include: Plastic Bag Reusable tote (cotton, canvas, jute, calico, etc.) Plastic Straws Glass, metal, bamboo straws Plastic Bottles Reusable bottle Plastic Toothbrushes Bamboo toothbrush Plastic Cutlery Metal, wooden or bamboo cutlery Ziplocks & disposable containers Reusable Tupperware Set an example by refusing single-use plastic wherever you go Encourage your school to become a single-use plastic free environment Form a committee dedicated to raising awareness and advocating for bans on single-use plastic products Ask restaurants and local businesses to ditch single-use plastic Organise petitions or write letters to express your concern to your local government and ask that they take steps to limit or ban single-use plastics in your city/country 14
Help prevent the problem from getting worse Organise or participate in community cleanups to help decrease the plastic that reaches our ocean Act on your ideas and try think of better ways for us to manage or repurpose our waste
Use this table to keep track of all the single-use plastic you use over the next week. The average American throws away 1.61kg of plastic waste per week - see how your own habits compare.
Number of each item used
Total
Plastic bags
Plastic cutlery
Plastic straws
Plastic bottles
Plastic containers
Plastic cups
Plastic food packaging Others
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PLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE NEWS!
In the days leading up to World Oceans Day 2018, a beautiful pilot whale passed away despite a veterinary team’s best efforts to rescue it. An autopsy revealed that the whale had ingested over 8kgs of plastic which clogged up its digestive tract. This loss is one of several million marine life deaths caused by plastic pollution each year, and is a stark reminder of the drastic impacts of plastic and why it’s so important that we #BeatPlasticPollution. via Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources / Facebook @DMCRTH
Plastic pollution is no doubt a huge problem but the key to healthier oceans lies in our hands. It is up to us as the youth of today to step up, take action, and be part of the solution. It begins with us. The ocean is counting on us and we’ve got everything we need to make a change, so let’s get to it!
Bibliography: National Geographic Why the Ocean Matters: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/why-ocean-matters/ Ocean Information and Facts: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/ ocean/?beta=true Great Pacific Garbage Patch https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
NOAA What we know about Entanglement and Ingestion: https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/what-weknow-about-entanglement-and-ingestion What role does the ocean play in weather?: https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/ocean/weather.html Medicines from the Sea: https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/medicinesfromthesea/ What does the ocean have to do with human health: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ ocean-human-health.html
Greenpeace
How does plastic end up in the ocean?: https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/plastic-end-ocean/
Earth Day Network
Fact Sheet: End Plastic Pollution: https://www.earthday.org/2018/03/07/fact-sheet-end-plasticpollution/
BBC
Plastic particles found in bottled water: http://www.bbc.com/news/scienceenvironment-43388870
Popsci
Your seafood might contain tiny plastic particles: https://www.popsci.com/your-seafood-mightcontain-tiny-plastic-particles#page-2
Join The Ocean Project’s Youth For The Ocean to connect with youth around the world and learn about exciting opportunities to join global youth initiatives! 

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