Most of the plastic in the oceans, earth’s last sink, flows from land. Plastic is carried to sea by major rivers, which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more rubbish as they move downstream. Once at sea, much of the plastic rubbish remains in coastal waters. But once caught up in ocean currents, it can be transported around the world.
Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been lost at sea, abandoned or discarded when they have become damaged.
A seemingly harmless discarded fishing net, left to drift in the ocean can strangle a hapless sea turtle travelling to its nesting ground. Sharks, fish and other marine life all over the world have suffered this fate.
At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, and make up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Which is equivalent to dumping a rubbish truck (1 ton) of plastic into the ocean per minute. Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and deaths.