How you can do your part in reducing and preventing marine debris

Marine debris is any man-made, solid material that enters waterways directly through littering or indirectly via rivers, streams and storm drains. Marine debris can be simple items like a discarded soda can, cigarette butt, or plastic bag that ends up in the ocean potentially harming marine life. Nearly 80 percent of Commercial Marine Debris Pass Christian Mississippi originates from land-based sources.

Lost or abandoned commercial and recreational fishing nets, lines, pots, and traps are another form of marine debris, categorized as derelict fishing gear (DFG). These things, whether discarded intentionally or lost accidentally, may sit on the seafloor, get caught on rocky or coral reefs, or float on the ocean surface. The majority of this lost gear doesn’t decompose in seawater and can stay in the marine environment for many years. Often this gear continues to trap and even kill marine animals, a phenomenon referred to as “ghost fishing.”

Take Action Against Marine Debris

With so much trash and litter entering our ocean every year, the situation of preventing and reducing marine debris is definitely an urgent challenge that we must meet to preserve the health of our ocean. Business, government and individuals can make a difference. Here’s how you can do your part in reducing and preventing marine debris:

Bring your own personal reusable cup for your morning coffee or latte, because disposable
cups can wind up as marine debris. You can even leave a cup and glass at work for you to
make use of for your individual beverages. Each year we throw away 25 billion styrofoam
coffee cups. Many end up in our ocean where they kill nearly a million sea creatures.

Avoid products with excess packaging. Buy fresh and local. Buy from bulk bins and avoid packages with individually wrapped items. Reducing excess packaging and plastics reduces marine debris!

Invest in a reusable water bottle rather than using single-use plastic bottles.

Bring is likely to reusable bag not just to the grocery store, but to all stores to cut back utilization of paper and plastic bags.

Keep our beaches clean! Get involved in annualy.

Take the pledge. Return the favor by taking our pledge to guard the ocean.

Take action against marine debris.

Why is Marine Debris a Problem?

Marine debris can kill and injure marine wildlife through ingestion and entanglement, disperse invasive species, endanger human health, cause damage to shipping vessels, and hurt businesses and tourism by polluting our beaches and coastline. Plastic debris is especially threatening because of its ability to absorb and concentrate toxic pollutants.

Beach visitors can be injured by harmful debris on beaches, such as for instance broken glass and sharp metals. Toxic pollutants may also be transferred up the foodchain and consumed by humans.

Marine debris causes damage to shipping vessels through collision, entanglement in propeller blades, and clogging of water intakes for engine cooling systems.

You will find no confirmed estimates about just how much marine debris is in the ocean, but a research voyage to the North Pacific Gyre (an area northwest of Hawaii where ocean currents converge) reported concentrations of plastics in an area roughly one to 2 times how big Texas. This area, now known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, has increased 5-fold within the last few 10 years. Research here discovered that the ratio of plastic to plankton (an important food that numerous marine animals feed upon) was 6:1 in the surface waters. In some areas the ratio was as high as 48:1.