Marine Debris and Seabird Welfare

Marine plastic debris causes welfare harms to seabirds through ingestion, entanglement and nest material incorporation, with some species showing severe population impacts from plastic pollution.

Key Facts

90% of seabird species have ingested plastic, with 80-90% of flesh-footed shearwater fledglings having plastic in their stomachs
Plastic ingestion causes reduced appetite, nutrient malabsorption and gut blockage reducing seabird survival
Albatross feed plastic to chicks, causing starvation as plastic fills stomach space needed for food
Entanglement in plastic packaging and fishing gear causes seabird drowning and wing injury
Ghost fishing gear — lost fishing equipment — continues catching and killing seabirds for years after loss

Welfare Considerations

Marine plastic pollution affects seabirds across their entire lifecycle, from albatrosses feeding plastic to chicks in nesting colonies to shearwaters dying from plastic blockage in their digestive systems. The welfare harms are prolonged — a bird with a stomach full of plastic feels sated but starves. One entangled in ghost fishing gear drowns or starves depending on how it is caught. These harms scale with plastic pollution across entire ocean basins, affecting millions of birds across hundreds of species. The solutions operate at the same scale: systemic reduction of plastic production, improved waste management to prevent ocean entry, and cleanup of existing ocean debris.

What You Can Do

Reduce single-use plastic consumption to reduce ocean plastic pollution affecting seabirds
Support marine debris cleanup organizations including Project AWARE and Ocean Conservancy
Participate in coastal cleanup events removing land-based plastic before it enters the ocean
Advocate for extended producer responsibility legislation requiring manufacturers to manage plastic waste through its lifecycle