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Pollution and Marine Life 1
Running Head: POLLUTION AND MARINE LIFE
The Effects of Pollution on Marine Life
Shae A. Doty
Saint Mary’s College
Pollution and Marine Life 2
Introduction
Research from the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of
Oceanography said that species in the ocean consume a projected 12,000 to 24,000 tons
of plastic every year in the Pacific Ocean (Nall, 2014). Pollution from recyclable
materials such as: plastic bags, soda can holders, water bottles, etc. in the oceans is one of
the leading causes of near extinction in some marine species. Imagine a world where we
didn’t constantly worry about the vicious cycle of humans affecting animals and then
animals in turn affecting us through our consumption. This issue of polluting our
environment is only a strand in the web of environmental issues that systems thinking
explores. Yet, this research paper provides information that magnifies this smaller issue
to create an understanding of the magnitude of larger environmental issues that people
need to be responsible for, through the framework of a land ethic and one’s obligation.
Marine Biologists, Earth scientists, photobioreactor researchers and marine journalists
would all agree that pollution of our oceans is a problem. The future of this problem is
where their ideas tend to differ. This literature review attempts to demonstrate and
support the belief that pollution is becoming worse in the ocean and more marine life
ecosystems are being affected, through qualitative data of personal accounts and stories
and quantitative date of sea otter recovery charts and revival rates of ecosystems, charts
of the number of plastic in the ocean and tables, maps and charts to describe the
expansion of plastic in the oceans. But, there are solutions that we as humans can do to
change this. If we do not realize our own responsibility, as well as a collective obligation
to humanity and marine life, then we will need to start thinking of other ways to replace
those food and water resources, which is extremely unattainable.
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Literature Review
“Recovery of Marine Animal Populations and Ecosystems.” Trends in Ecology &
Evolution. Heike Lotze, Marta Coll, Anna Magera, Christine Ward- Paige, Laura Airoldi
In a research article by Lotze, Coll, Magera, Ward and Airoldi (2011) they examine the
positive side of how ecosystems in the ocean can recover even though they are faced with
countless struggles every day. Heike Lotze is the Canada Research Chair in Marine
Renewable Resources; Marta Coll has a PhD in Marine Science and is currently a
researcher at the Marine Exploited Ecosystems Mixed Research Unit. Anna Magera is a
fisheries biologist and works for the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board; Christine
Ward-Paige is a research consultant at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and she
created a database for the Thailand eShark project. Laura Airoldi is an editorial board
member of the Marine Ecology Progress Series, as well as an author and co-author of
sixty peer review papers and eight book chapters. These authors ask the main question:
How common is improvement among depleted populations and degraded ecosystems in
the ocean? Through the use of illustrations of sea otter recovery and charts of revival
rates in ecosystems, it is hypothesized that over the years, ecosystems are moving
towards renewal and essentially in the future, they will increase. The results of the
research these scholars did on recovery of certain ecosystems stated that 10-50% of
ecosystems actually show some rate of progression (Lotze, Coll, Magera, Ward, Airoldi,
2011). This has significance when looking at pollution and the effects it has on marine
life: “Pollution controls and habitat restoration have had important roles in the recovery
of diadromous fishes. Overall, in terms of relative importance of the different factors, it
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has been shown that 95% of recoveries of exploited marine species in estuarine and
coastal regions were enabled by reduced or banned exploitation” (Lotze, Coll, Magera,
Ward, Airoldi, 2011). The results also indicate how improvement is possible in other
ecosystems as well, not just with the example of diadromous fish. All of these results
combined confirmed the overall hypothesis that pollution is becoming worse in the ocean
and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but these scholars believe there is
hope for these ecosystems in the future through rehabilitation and less human
interference. Marine life ecosystems can be saved if humans limit their pollution, ban
commercial exploiting and protect habitats. One limitation to the study is that the
recovery of these ecosystems appears unachievable since “long-lived marine animals
might take many decades to recover from low population abundance owing to their slow
life-history characteristics and low annual growth rates”(Lotze, Coll, Magera, Ward,
Airoldi, 2011). Another limitation to the study is that there is no statistical data showing
how ecosystems in the past have changed or recovered. There is only data describing
what is happening now and possibilities for what could happen in the future.
Oceans: The Threats To Our Seas and What You Can Do To Turn The Tide: Jon
Bowermaster, Participant Guide Media
In a book of collected essays edited by Jon Bowermaster, he asks the main question: How
many of the billions of people living in this world, who frequently look at our oceans,
stop and wonder how they are doing? Bowermaster is a six-time grantee of the National
Geographic Expeditions Council and an award-winning author, journalist and filmmaker.
He uses qualitative data through personal accounts and stories from people regarding
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pollution and pictures. He hypothesizes that there are three details people need to keep in
consideration when thinking about our oceans: Loving them, losing them and saving
them. The results in this book supported the hypothesis of loving, losing or saving our
oceans by bringing up the fact that our oceans are full of plastic and “It began with a line
of plastic bags ghosting the surface, followed by an ugly tangle of junk: nets and ropes
and bottles, motor-oil jugs and cracked bath toys” (Bowermaster, 2010, p. 72). This has
significance when looking at pollution and the effects it has on marine life: “More than a
million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and countless fish die in the North Pacific
each year, either from mistakenly eating this junk or from being ensnared in it and
drowning”(Bowermaster, 2010, 74). These results operate against the hypothesis that
recovery is possible for the future (Lotze, Coll, Magera, Ward, Airoldi, 2011) by saying
that every year, millions of animals and marine life are dying because of human
pollution. It is also later reported that: “Though marine dumping is part of the problem,
escaped nurdles and other plastic litter migrate to the gyre largely from land. That
polystyrene cup you saw floating in the creek, if it doesn’t get picked up and specifically
taken to a landfill, will eventually be washed out to sea” (Bowermaster, 2010, p. 79). All
of these results combined confirm the overall hypothesis that pollution is growing worse
in the ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there are things that
we as humans can do to change this. By offering solutions to pollution in the ocean,
Bowermaster signifies the importance of educating ourselves on how reliant we are on
this water that comes from our oceans. One limitation to the study is that while numerous
significant and extremely important points were made, the majority of them were made
without statistics to back them up.
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“Are We “Digging Our Own Grave” Under the Oceans?” Environmental Science &
Technology. Raveender Vannela
In a research article by Raveender Vannela (2012) he asks: Are the millions of tons of
plastic that we are putting into the ocean every year not only affecting marine life but also
us as humans? Vannela currently leads a research group for photobioreactor research and
works with green chemistry. Through the use of statistical data and pictures of amounts
of marine debris in the ocean, he hypothesizes that the amount of pollution we as humans
put into the ocean every year is largely affecting both the marine life and humans because
of the food chain system. The results in this study supported the hypothesis of the
research on pollution affecting marine life and humans as well by stating, “An estimated
70% of 20 million tons of plastic eventually sinks into bottom of the oceans damaging
precious life… that makes living off the oceans owe their dependency to the ‘untouched
and super-productive world’” (Vannela, 2012). This has significance when looking at
pollution since: “The large plastic items thrown into the ocean eventually disintegrate
into thousands of tiny pieces of plastic that form a large cloud of ‘plastic gunk/soup’
beneath the ocean surface across the pelagic water column” (Vannela, 2012). This
indicates that pollution is affecting us as humans through our food chain and that we are
essentially the ones creating this catastrophe in the first place. These results agree with
the hypothesis that every year, millions of marine creatures are dying and that humans
have a hand in this entire web of pollution as a whole (Bowermaster, 2011). All of these
results combined confirm the overall hypothesis that pollution is becoming worse in the
ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there are things that we as
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humans can do to change this. One limitation to the study is the lack of data on how we
as humans are being affected through the food chain from this pollution in the ocean.
“The Present and Future Of Microplastic Pollution In The Marine Environment.”
Environmental Pollution. Ivar do Sul, Monica Costa
In a research article by Ivar do Sul and Monica Costa (2013) the main question is asked:
How widespread is the expansion of microplastic in ecosystems in relation to the
considerable implications it presents to marine life? Sul has a doctorate in statistical
modeling and marine and coastal pollution; Costa is an Associate Professor at UFPE with
a background in Earth Sciences. Through statistics, tables, maps and charts, they
hypothesize that through laboratory studies, it will be provable that microplastic
expansion has gotten worse over the years and is greatly impacting marine life. The
results in this study supported the hypothesis of the research since it states: “Several
million tonnes of plastics have been produced since the middle of the last century (more
than two hundred million tonnes annually)” (Ivar do Sul, Costa, 2013). This has
significance when looking at pollution since: “Microplastics are reportedly present on six
continents, and higher amounts are commonly related to densely populated areas. In a
study of the types (mostly fibers) and materials (frequently polyester and acrylic) of
microplastics, suggested that the plastics were produced by sewage effluents, including
wastewater from washing machines” (Ivar do Sul, Costa, 2013). These results indicate
that pollution is present on six of the seven continents and it comes from largely
populated areas. These results agree with the hypothesis that our “untouched and superproductive world” is affecting marine life ecosystems (Vannela, 2012). All of these
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results combined confirm the overall hypothesis that pollution is becoming worse in the
ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there are matters that we
as humans can do to change this. While much consideration is given for going into
lengthy depths of how microplastic pollution affects creatures in the ocean, one limitation
to the study is some lack of statistical data showing how much of this pollution is directly
related to humans.
In conclusion, the results indicate that the ecosystems being affected in the ocean
by pollution are a vicious cycle of human complacency (Bowermaster, 2010; Lotze, et
al., 2011; Sul & Costa, 2013; Vannela, 2012). It is important to understand that humans
play an essential role in the effects of pollution of marine life. Also, that as pollution in
the oceans grow worse over the years, we may in turn be affecting ourselves through
consumption. It can be assumed from these four sources that we live in a world of a
massive butterfly effect where humans create the pollution that affects marine life, which
in turn affects humans. Future research needs to focus on the significant data and the
statistics of how much pollution is directly related to human negligence. If more focus
was placed on this area of research as well as how pollution is affecting marine life, then
humans might take more into consideration the next time they throw their water bottle
into a garbage can or down a sewage drain. The research that I have done will contribute
to these arguments made about pollution by delving deeper into the statements made;
proving that pollution is, over time getting worse in the oceans and that marine species
are significantly being affected.
Pollution and Marine Life 9
According to the Marin Academy's Oceanography website, “There are over 46,000
pieces of plastic floating in each square mile of ocean off of the Northeast coast of the
United States. This plastic contributes to the death of 100,000 marine mammals and two
million sea birds yearly” (Marin Academy, 2010). A square mile of ocean may seem
large, but in comparison to the amount of plastic encompassed in this area, it is
significant. Ravendeer Vannela, leader of the research group of photobioreactor research
states, “An estimated 70% of 20 million tons of plastic eventually sinks into bottom of
the oceans damaging precious life… that makes living off the oceans owe their
dependency to the ‘untouched and super-productive world’” (Vannela, 2012). This 20
million tons of plastic are getting into the throats of marine species like seals, dolphins,
whales, turtles and seabirds and is the cause of thousands of deaths every year. The
causes of pollution in the oceans appear rather clear after researching this topic. Humans
single handedly pollute thousands of tons of plastic waste every year without a second
thought. Since humans don’t recycle their plastic waste and many throw their bottles or
trash onto the highways, beaches or on the sidewalk, this waste is ending up inside of the
stomachs of thousands of marine species. Jon Bowermaster, six-time grantee of the
National Geographic Expeditions Council, perfectly describes that humans are the main
cause of pollution in the oceans by saying:
“…we as humans are a rapacious species, seemingly incapable of taking good care of any
place; over the past five centuries or so, we’ve done a very good job of taking from the
ocean without pause to consider its fragility and the damage we’ve done to it by our
indifference”(Bowermaster, 2010, p. xii).
We as humans are incredibly comfortable with the anthropocentric mindset we have
when it comes to the land that we live off of. In the twenty-first century we are living
such a fast paced lifestyle, so we don’t recognize that our selfish actions are actually
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hurting the species that we share this land with.
The status of pollution in the oceans as of 2014 is better in some places than in
others. In an article called Marine Protected Areas in the Coral Triangle: Progress,
Issues, and Options by researchers Alan White, Porfirio Alino, Annick Cros, Nurulhuda
Fatan, Alison Green, Shwu Teoh, Lynette Laroya, Nate Peterson, Stanley Tan, Stacey
Tighe, Ruben Venegas-Li, Anne Walton and Wen Wen, they discuss that in the six
countries known as the Triangle countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea,
Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, that: “each have evolving systems of
marine protected areas (MPAs) at the national and local levels”(White, et. al, 2014). The
same cannot be said for areas surrounding the United States, since statistics are still
proving that thousands of marine species are dying every year because of the waste that
we let float out into the oceans. These six countries, working toward cleaner marine
ecosystems, can say a great deal about their biocentric viewpoint of the environment that
extends value to all living species rather than the anthropocentric viewpoint most
countries are currently portraying that regards humans as the supreme central species.
The expansion and implementation of more marine protected areas around the world is
exactly what the future of marine species ecosystems needs. With more MPAs being
created around the world, we could witness the number of marine species deaths drop in
the future.
This issue of pollution in the oceans directly affects humans through their
consumption of marine species through a butterfly effect. Humans throw their waste into
the ocean; marine species such as seagulls, turtles and seals eat the waste and as a result,
become sick. Then humans eat these marine species and become sick too with illnesses as
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severe as cancer. In an article called Levels of PCDD/PCDFs and PCBs in edible marine
species and human intake by Jose L. Domingo and Ana Bocio, they present three
environmental contaminants that exist in marine species because of the waste that they
are consuming, which in turn, is making humans extremely ill. They say: “Although
human exposure to PCDD/Fs and PCBs can occur by various routes, food is the primary
source. A number of studies have shown that the major food sources of these organic
pollutants are fat-containing animal products, including fish and other seafood”(Domingo
& Bocio, 2007). Humans are consuming these unsanitary species and countless people
are becoming ill, which is why tons of species keep ending up on a list of marine foods
that we shouldn’t eat. This is an interesting concept because if humans came together and
made a collective effort by cutting down the amount of recycled waste that travels into
the ocean every year, we wouldn’t need to worry about getting sick from eating seafood.
There are numerous activists working to eliminate the problem of pollution in the
oceans in the future and through my research, I have focused on three activist groups
specifically. Firstly, I focused on The Ocean Cleanup. It is an organization that wants to
extract, prevent and seize the plastic waste in the oceans. In an article called Ocean
Cleanup Array developed by 19-year-old could save millions each year, and impact
human health by Antonia, author on the Natural News & Scientific Discoveries website,
discusses the plans that nineteen year old Boyan Slat has for the future of our
environment are discussed. In the article the author states: “The Ocean Cleanup Array
project has the potential to remove 7,250,000 tons of plastic from the world’s oceans:
save hundreds of thousands of aquatic life each year; and reduce PCB, DDT, and other
pollutants from affecting the food chain, which includes humans”(Antonia, 2013). This
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solution involves an array of barriers that will float in the ocean and collect the plastic
waste and solely use wind and natural currents of the ocean. This idea will eventually
obliterate the plastic islands floating in the oceans and if it were successful, would be a
very effective idea to remove all of the plastic waste in the oceans. I next focused on The
Surfrider Foundation. In an article called Beach cleanups target cigarette butts by David
Fleshler, he says: “…the Surfrider Foundation conducts monthly cleanups, where
cigarettes are invariably the most common item... ‘It’s killing fish, it’s lingering in our
oceans. Our oceans are turning into a plastic soup’”(Fleshler, 2012). Their solution
involves volunteers from all over the United States coming together and cleaning up
plastic waste off of the beaches. They advocate for reduction of plastic use and raise
awareness of what polluting the oceans does, not only to marine life but also to humans.
They leave people with the final thought on their website, “What goes in the ocean goes
in you”(Surfrider Foundation). Lastly, I focused on the Algalita Marine Research
Foundation. In an article called Ingestion of plastic found among small ocean fish by
Tony Barboza, he says: “About 35% of the fish collected on a 2008 research expedition
off the West Coast had plastic in their stomachs…Algalita, a Long Beach-based nonprofit
named for its founder’s 50-foot catamaran, conducts scientific research on the global
spread of marine debris…”(Barboza, 2011). The Algalita Marine Research Foundation is
dedicated to protecting the marine environment and educating people around the world
on the impact of pollution in the oceans. By going on expeditions and studying the
species that have ingested plastic waste, they are providing information for other activists
as a resource. These could all be systematic solutions since they aren’t costly, they all
can feed off of each other’s research information to create a better environment, and they
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potentially save the lives of thousands of species every year.
Consequently, all of this research can provide an optimistic outlook on the future
knowing that so many activists are working to save our oceans. But, if we as a human
race do not come together and stop our pollution of plastic waste in the oceans, our
environmental future doesn’t look exceptionally bright. There will be long-term
implications if we cannot stop polluting. Eventually we are going to kill off all of the
species in the oceans if we fail to address this problem. In addition to pollution hurting
the marine species, it also affects the water in the oceans where some of the water we rely
on to drink comes from. We rely so heavily on these entities in the ocean, so the only
answer is to stop polluting. The solutions to pollution that are currently in the works are
grand ideas that need to be tested in order to salvage our environment. The problem with
some of these solutions taking place is that countries; political and ethical values
overpower the small voices of these activist groups. Since the projected costs to remove
all of the plastic in the oceans is still unknown, countries step aside, pushing the blame
elsewhere since they don’t want to be held responsible. Our problem is that the majority
of humans around the world need to take a biocentric standpoint on this issue and lessen
their anthropocentric views in order to save this environment that we depend on. If we
don’t all collectively join in on stopping pollution than we as humans are going to face
serious consequences like a loss of food and water resources. Throughout researching I
have come to define a firm standpoint against polluting in the oceans and have decided to
become involved with local volunteer groups like the Surfrider Foundation and Save the
Bay that help remove plastic waste. Through banning the sale of plastic bottles,
implementing more policies protecting our oceans and creating more organizations to
Pollution and Marine Life 14
voice these problems, we can all work together collectively to rid the ocean of plastic. If
we do not realize our own responsibility through a framework of a land ethic, as well as a
collective obligation to humanity and marine life, then we will need to start thinking of
other ways to replace those food and water resources, which is highly impossible.
Pollution and Marine Life 15
References
Antonia. "Ocean Cleanup Array Developed by 19-year-old Could save Millions Each
Year, and Impact Human Health." Natural News (2013): n. pg. Web. 3 May 2014.
Barboza, Tony. "Ingestion of Plastic Found among Small Ocean Fish." Los Angeles
Times (2011): n. pg. Web. 3 May 2014.
Beavan, C. (2014, 04 06). No impact man: Plastic in the food chain
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2007/06/plastic_in_the_.html
Bowermaster, J. (2010). The threats to our seas and what you can do to turn the tide: A
participant media guide. New York: Public Affairs.
Domingo, José L., and Ana Bocio. "Levels of PCDD/PCDFs and PCBs in Edible Marine
Species and Human Intake: A Literature Review." Environment International
33.3 (2007): 397-405. Print.
Fleshler, David. "Beach Cleanups Target Cigarette Butts." Sun Sentinel (2012): n. pg.
Web. 3 May 2014.
Ivar do Sul, J. A., & Costa, M. (2013). The present and future of microplastic pollution in
the marine environment. Environmental Pollution.
Lotze, H., Coll, M., Magera, A., Ward-Paige, C., & Airoldi, L. (2011). Recovery of
marine animal populations and ecosystems. Trends in Ecology & Evolution,
26(11), 595-605.
Ravendeer, V. (2012). Are we "digging our own grave" under the oceans?.
Environmental Science & Technology, 46(15), 7932-933.
White, Alan, Porfirio Alino, Annick Cros, Nurulhuda Fatan, Alison Green, Shwu Teoh,
Lynette Laroya, Nate Peterson, Stanley Tan, Stacey Tighe, Ruben Venegas-Li,
Pollution and Marine Life 16
Anne Walton, and Wen Wen. "Marine Protected Areas in the Coral Triangle:
Progress, Issues, and Options." Coastal Management 42.2 (2014): 87-106. Web. 3
May 2014.