Marine Plastic Ingestion by Wildlife

Plastic debris in the ocean is ingested by seabirds, turtles, fish, and marine mammals. Ingestion causes internal injuries, blockages, and starvation.

Key Facts

An estimated 1-2 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die from plastic annually
90% of seabirds have plastic in their stomachs
Microplastics have been found in every ocean on Earth including the deep sea
Albatrosses feed plastic to chicks, causing them to starve with full stomachs
8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean annually

Welfare Considerations

Plastic ingestion causes multiple welfare harms. Seabird chicks fed plastic by parents cannot digest it, fill their stomachs with indigestible material, and starve despite receiving apparent food. Adult seabirds with plastic accumulation experience reduced capacity for real food, malnutrition, and internal puncture from sharp plastic fragments. Marine mammals entangled in plastic bags or six-pack rings suffer constriction injuries and drowning. Turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish. The scale of suffering is enormous and driven by preventable plastic pollution.

What You Can Do

Radically reduce single-use plastic use in daily life
Support Extended Producer Responsibility legislation making plastic producers pay for cleanup
Join beach and waterway clean-up events
Advocate for better plastic waste management in major contributing countries
Support Ocean Conservancy and Plastic Oceans Foundation campaigns