All About Marine Debris

Floating in the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and California sits the Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s a notorious landmark made up of a collection of microplastics, fishing nets, and other trash. The debris accumulates and continues to grow in the ocean with the potential to cause harm to marine life, human life, the food chain and ecosystems.

Sadly, this isn’t the only place where marine debris collects in the ocean. As Catalina Divers Supply team member Kayla Feairheller explains: “Marine debris refers to any human-made waste that end up in our oceans, from plastic bottles and fishing gear to microplastics and abandoned vessels.” In short, marine debris is all the human-made waste that ends up in our oceans. Kayla lives and works locally on Catalina, but she has also sailed the world. As the founder of Bleu World, a nonprofit with the mission to grow a community of ocean changemakers with a passion for conservation, exploration, and science, she reminds us of the importance to not only be aware of the negative impacts of marine debris, but to know that you can make a positive impact to alleviate some of the issues it causes.

Marine debris by the numbers:

Our oceans make up more than 70% of planet earth. National Geographic notes that there are approximately 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. While about 269,000 tons float on the surface, there is also heavy debris that litters the ocean floor.

The major issues of marine debris are plentiful and powerful. As a scuba diver, sailor, and ocean protector Kayla Feairheller has seen the negative effects of marine debris first-hand. She explains, “This debris threatens marine life, damages sensitive ecosystems, and even enters the food chain, impacting human health.”

• Entanglement leads to endangerment. Boaters, beach goers, and fishermen have all contributed to the marine debris problem by discarding things into the water; fishing nets, ropes, and fishing lines can get caught on all kinds of marine life. For animals like sea turtles, sea birds, seals, dolphins, and even fish, this debris can tangle around their bodies, restricting movement. Entangled animals can have difficulty breathing air at the surface, swimming, or finding food. Tangled items can amputate limbs, cause cuts, or even suffocate sea creatures. Discarding gear from boats or failing to properly dispose of or secure it has the ability to create a lot of devastation and death in sea life populations.

• Ingestion effects go beyond the ocean. A lot of sea creatures have been known to ingest plastic bags or food wrappers, mistaking them for food. Microplastics can resemble fish eggs, and plastic can look like jellyfish. Once ingested, plastic can lead to blockages in digestive tracts or full stomachs that lead to malnutrition and starvation in marine life.  Humans are also affected; plastics in the ocean break down and get ingested by fish and shellfish. Once consumed by humans, seafood can transfer toxic chemicals to consumers, leading to significant health concerns.

• Ecosystems are destroyed. When large pieces of marine debris remain in the ocean, they can wreak havoc on habitats. Abandoned water craft can crush or smother places like coral reefs, oyster beds, turtle nests, and seagrass. In addition, larger trash in the ocean has the ability to transport organisms to new areas, which can cause a lot of disruption in local ecosystems.

• Debris can be dangerous. Whether it’s a can, a bottle, a hook, or a rope, many items that are discarded in the ocean have the potential to cause hazards or injury to both marine life and humans.

• There’s an economic impact as well. Our world is connected by oceans, and so is our economy. Large fishing and shipping vessels can be waylaid by trash in the ocean that can damage boat propellers or fishing gear.  Tourism is also affected as visitors tend to avoid trash-covered coastlines.

How can humans help with the marine debris problem? Kayla and the team at Catalina Divers Supply encourages responsible scuba diving and boating in all your island adventures. As Kayla tells us, “Real change comes from both individual action and collective policy shifts, and together we can create a healthier, debris-free ocean for generations to come.”

• Start at home. Reducing your use of single-use plastics is key, as is avoiding the use of plastic straws, bags, and disposable containers as often as you can. Invest in nice reusable water bottles, coffee cups, and tote bags to help reduce your use of plastic and disposables. Be sure to follow recycling rules and waste disposal procedures in your local community as well.

• Get involved. Include a beach or community cleanup in your monthly or weekly routines. Want to help in the ocean? You can join a program like Dive Against Debris, where scuba divers work to remove trash from the ocean floor. PADI AWARE is an organization that leads the global effort to have cleaner oceans, empowering lives and communities through education, science, and conservation action.

• Make your island getaway an impactful one. Do you love to scuba around Southern California? Plan to join hundreds of divers alongside Catalina Divers Supply on the one day each year when you can scuba dive in Avalon Harbor—for a good cause. Sign up for the Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup, an event that takes place each winter. You can learn more about this event here. 

Be a part of the positive impact and help to eliminate ocean debris, making the water a healthy place to be. Learn more about our work with PADI AWARE and all of our conservation efforts at our website.