Sea turtles are incredible animals that inspire affection and curiosity. But because they live most of their lives at sea, they are shrouded in mystery. Scientists have spent decades trying to unravel the many mysteries of sea turtles’ lives through research and observation which has luckily revealed intriguing facts about sea turtles. However, plastic pollution is a growing threat to sea turtles worldwide, and scientists are only beginning to understand its impacts.
Plastic pollution in our oceans is a massive problem that impacting sea turtles and many other marine species. Staggeringly, between 5–13 million metric tons of plastic waste are estimated to enter our oceans annually — equal to dumping a garbage truck full of plastic every minute! This problem is made worse by the fact that plastics last forever. When they degrade, they break down into microplastics that last in the environment indefinitely. It is no surprise, then, that researchers predict that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight.
For sea turtles, which have been around for over 100 million years, plastics are a brand new, but devastating, threat. Despite millennia of evolution, surviving mass extinctions, and outliving the dinosaurs, sea turtles struggle to withstand the impacts of plastics on them and their environments.
So, how is plastic affecting sea turtles?
Ingestion: Sea turtles can ingest plastic by mistaking it for their natural food (for example, a plastic bag that looks like a jellyfish), or by accidentally eating plastic that is present among their natural food (for example, a plastic straw on the seafloor among crustaceans).
Entanglement: Sea turtles can become entangled in plastic waste, such as discarded fishing gear, also known as "ghost nets” / “ghost gear," or other debris, while they are migrating, feeding, or even while they are nesting. Entanglement can lead to injuries, can hinder their ability to swim, to surface for air, or to feed, and, in severe cases, can lead to drowning and death. Scientists estimate that at least 1,000 sea turtles die each year due to entanglement in plastic—that’s an average of more than 1 turtle every 9 hours!
If sea turtles go extinct, it will cause declines in all the species whose survival depends on healthy seagrass beds and coral reefs. That means that many marine species that humans harvest would be lost.
Sea turtles and more specifically green sea turtles are one of the only animals on this planet that eats seagrass. Much like the grass we see on our lawns, seagrass needs to be cut and maintained to help it grow across natural sea beds. Seagrass beds are incredibly important for the marine ecosystem, as they provide a home for many species of fish and crustaceans. Without seagrass beds, many species of marine would be lost. In turn, this could have a detrimental effect on our lives as well, as many of the marine species that we harvest for food would suddenly disappear. On the surface we might not realize just how important sea turtles are for our survival, but if they were to go extinct the surrounding marine life would soon follow suit. Every part of an ecosystem, no matter how big or small, plays an integral part in the world around us – if we lose one, the rest will follow.
Plastic is not only threatening the lives of sea creatures. Plastic monsters have taken over the lives of human beings. Our terrestrial nature is also disappearing, just like the seas. In the not-so-distant, very near future, we may only be eating plastic. Aren't we already? Take a break and try to understand how plastic monsters are the nightmare of our planet. Realize what danger and extinction look like.
