One Ocean Planet

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WHAT WE ARE READING: “Industrialised fishing nations largely contribute to floating plastic pollution in the North Pacific subtropical gyre” Just published – the latest results on where the plastic in the North Pacific Garbage Patch (NPGP) originates from. The report reveals that 75% to 86% of the floating plastic debris in the NPGP originates from fishing activities at sea and can be considered “abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear” (ALDFG). And most of that, is from trawlers (yet another reason to ban them). The origin of most of the plastic that has contributed to the formation of the NPGP has been traced to five industrialised fishing nations - Japan, China, South Korea, the USA and Taiwan. This conclusion comes from the analysis of hard plastic debris found in the NPGP but it is likely also applicable to nets and ropes for which the origin is harder to determine. This highlights the critical role the fishing industry must play in the solution to the global ocean plastic pollution problem. And just for a sense of the dimension we are talking about, the area currently covered with tens of thousands of tonnes of floating plastic debris, is over millions of square kilometres. Thankful to the work of @theoceancleanup and Scientific Reports! #oceanbornfoundation #savemarinelife #saveouroceans #plasticfree #plasticpollution #plasticfreeliving #oceanlife #oceanlove @nature.portfolio