Daniel O. Fernandez

November 25, 2019

The ocean is large, it makes up around 71 percent of the earth and it is filled with many types of marine life. The ocean also helps out many people around the world. People enjoy many of the activities you can do in the ocean like the beach or water skiing. People also use it to make a living like a fisherman and some cities like Miami highly depend on the ocean to bring in tourism and better the economy. Some people even depend on the resources the ocean has to live. Now if the ocean is such an important resource to people, cities and even countries why has it not been a priority to clean it up? Cleaning up the ocean is not the only problem we have. We also have to set more rules and regulations so that all of these problems will not come back to haunt future generations. There are many different types of ocean pollution but while I was doing my research I decided to focus on the biggest one of them all, Plastic pollution. I want to mostly focus on how ocean pollution affects marine and human life, why it is not as easy as it seems, overfshing and state some solutions to solve this.

How does it affect marine life?

According to the article “Plastic Pollution Affects Sea Life Throughout the Ocean”, at least 800 species worldwide are affected by marine debris, and as much as 80 percent of that litter is plastic. These marine species are dying or getting severely injured. Many of them are also endangered or becoming an endangered species because of plastic pollution. These animals are eating this waste believing its food. According to the article “Plastic Pollution Affects Sea Life Throughout the Ocean” many sea birds are found dead with plastic in their stomachs. Also according to the article “Ocean Pollution: The Dirty Facts”, the majority of the trash that ends up in the ocean is plastic. Plastics are not biodegradable but after a while, these plastics start shrinking and shrinking until you can’t even see them and after a while, they turn into microplastics. According to the article “We made it. We depend on it. We’re drowning in it.”, a scientist Dissected some fish and he was surprised to find microplastics in the guts of more than one-third of them. It causes millions of marine deaths. Let us say a small fish ingest these microplastics now because of the cycle of life a larger fish comes and eats that smaller fish now most of the fish in the ocean have these microplastics in them causing them to die. Marine species will become more and more endangered. This also brings me to my next point on how it affects humans.

How does it affect human life?

To start of all those effects that plastic pollution had on marine life also greatly affect human life. Like I said, in the beginning, many people depend on the resources the ocean gives, whether its to enjoy it, making a living from it or even survive from it. With plastic pollution killing off or harming marine life people will not be able consume, sell for income or use it to survive. Like people in less developed countries that use fishing to feed their families. Or people who depend on catching seafood to sell to markets and restaurants. Also, seafood restaurants and seafood markets will be affected negatively. Plastic pollution can also affect the beaches we love to visit since the water and beaches can get filled with plastics. Thus making cities and countries like Miami or the Bahamas who are known for their beaches lose tourism. And without tourism, the economy in these places with be largely negatively affected. Personally, I enjoy visiting these places and would not want to swim in water that is filled with garbage. Going back to microplastics because some fish eat these plastics many people who enjoy eating seafood my also be consuming microplastics and personally I do not like eating fish with its insides filled with plastic. It can also cause various health problems.

Is the solution really that easy?

Some people have different opinions on if the solution to ocean pollution is easy or much more complicated. Some think it is just a simple solution to just clean it up like Ted Siegler. He said, “This isn’t a problem where we don’t know what the solution is,”. Others, like me, believe that the solution to this problem is much more complicated than what it seems. In the article “Plastic Pollution is a Real Problem—and It Won’t Be Solved by Straw Bans” the author states that ” It is a challenge that will have to be met primarily at the level of government policy-making and enforcement—not personal-consumer choices made at your local coffee shop or fast-food restaurant.” Although cleaning the ocean can be done by a large amount of helping hands the solution for ocean pollution to be solved is the need for government intervention. So that it can be solved and it will not happen again in the future. We also need to stop the use of plastics by people and corporations. According to the article “You Can’t Just “Clean Up” the Plastic in the Ocean. Here’s Why.” “Corporations that either make plastic — the actual material — or make products that use plastic in their packaging have a very big responsibility in this problem,” Mallos says. “There are some products out there, like plastic bags and expanded polystyrene food and beverage packaging — these are materials and types of products that simply no longer have a place in our economy. They pose a very severe risk to the marine environment when they leak into the ocean. And we know that there are suitable alternatives for these products that deliver the same utility and functionality as these products.” If we encourage people to use fewer products that contain plastics plastic pollution in the ocean will decrease. It will also be good if corporations would stop using plastics products but since they are big and powerful help from the government will be a necessity. “This is a global, complex issue. And everyone has a role to play. That ranges from us as individuals all the way up to governments and corporations,” Mallos says. This is a quote from the source above that I felt fit perfectly with the argument that I am stating.

Overfishing

Another thing that I feel plays a big part in harming the ocean is overfishing. Overfishing is the practice of going fishing and catching a large amount of fish that is more than you might need. I enjoy fishing, every summer I at least go fishing once but one rule that I am glad my dad taught me was to never go overboard on the fish. If I need ten fish to feed my family the most I should get is 12. I know people who go fishing and at the end of the trip, they come back with over forty fish when all they needed was ten. This practice kills the environment and the fish population. In the article “Ocean on the edge” Rip Cunnigham, a fisherman stated how in the 1970s there was a decline in the population of striped bass. They decided to put regulation on how much you can catch and after some years the population of striped bass grew back. A statement from this article that I also found fitting was by David Helvarg, executive director of Blue Frontier, an ocean advocacy group. He said he is “more frustrated than despairing with the ongoing disasters on our blue planet because we know what the solutions are. If you stop killing fish, they tend to grow back. If you stop producing 100 million metric tons of throw-away plastic every year, then you don’t face huge plastic pollution of our oceans.” This statement perfectly fits on both of the arguments I am trying to make about plastic pollution and overfishing.

Some solutions

My biggest recommendation to help solve this problem is to stop using plastics and use biodegradable products. You have to be careful what biodegradable products you use though in this article “Commercial plastics claiming biodegradable status: Is this also accurate for marine environments?” it talks about how some companies have been claiming that their products are biodegradable but after a few experiments they found that they are not. They also talk on how the misleading purchases to this product can lead to disposing of it in the wrong matter, so if you do purchase these products just make sure to dispose of it the proper way even if it claims its biodegradable. Another way you can help is by signing petitions and going out to rallies and protests.

Conclusion

To conclude the ocean plays a big part in many lives. Marine animals, people who depend on it to make a living, to feed their families, cities, countries, those who enjoy beaches, vacations and those who enjoy eating seafood or selling it in a market or restaurant. These plastics have a very negative impact on all these lives and for it to get better and for it to never happen again we need to stop the use of plastics from people and mostly corporations. This can not be done alone but with the help of everyone and most importantly the government to set more rules and regulations plastic pollution and the practice of overfishing can be abolished. One thing you can do to right now to help out is to sign this petition.