Marine plastic pollution causes welfare harms to hundreds of species globally through ingestion, entanglement, and chemical toxicity. The scale of the problem demands systemic solutions.
Marine plastic causes welfare harms that range from acute entanglement suffering to the slow starvation of seabirds whose stomachs fill with indigestible plastic. The full welfare impact is almost certainly larger than documented cases suggest: animals suffering from plastic ingestion or entanglement rarely come to human attention. Ghost fishing gear — nets drifting invisibly through the ocean — is a welfare emergency that continues for years or decades without any ongoing human action after the initial loss. Plastic prevention at source is the most effective welfare intervention.