Algalita Marine Research Blog

Stop [Plastic] Motion from Taina Uitto on Vimeo.  

I love this photo--  covering oneself in petroleum products to pick up petroleum products on a beach to ensure that the organic crude is hermetically sealed in polyethylene in a landfill. When will tragedy finally lead to wisdom, and then wisdom to solution?  

A little viral video we did for Surfrider's Rise Above Plastics, Ban The Bag campaign. 

Three days ago, we walked the Mississippi Gulf Coast, watching two devastating petroleum spills washing up on the beach. We've all heard of the one. The second oil spill isn't immediately obvious, but far more widespread, and equally deadly....

Thanks to plastic warrior Scott Harrison of the Surfrider Foundation's San Diego Chapter for Sharing.

Another dangerous chemical found in plastic -- bisphenol AF – might be even an more potent estrogen-mimicker than BPA.        

Deemed “a vicious compound," bisphenol A’s newly-identfied twin is raising strong health concerns.

Link to article in Science News

A warm, overcast sky burns into a gentle breeze and sunshine making for a pleasant day of nearshore sampling aboard ORV Alguita. Our work and enjoyment of the ocean scene along the Long Beach coast is, as usual, too often interrupted with balloons. We follow a bundle of silver hearts and an inflated #1 as it drifts out of reach over the water. Facundo skillfully hooks the bundle just after it settles on the ocean surface. Closer inspection reveals this pollution was generated in celebration of a little girls first birthday. Another colorful bundle of balloons reads “Caring with a personal touch”.

Thankfully our first otter trawl yields more fish than plastic (on the left Captain Moore pours the tub of specimens into a tank for further inspection). Later in the lab we will see if these fish have been including plastic in their diet. Above research crew member, Christiana, holds up a bit of plastic she untangled from the net along with these fish.

Above, our second otter trawl yields a familiar reminder of the confusion marine organisms can have when deciphering between plastic and prey (the infamous visual similarity between sea jellies and clear plastic).

We draw a second, less common comparison between a fragment of a moon snail egg collar (on the left above) and the fragment of plastic.

We also sampled the surface water just inside the break wall of the Long Beach Harbor using a manta trawl (above). On the left, Christiana and Emily are rinsing the sample from the cod end of the net into a bowl. Unfortunately, even a quick inspection of this sample reveals that it is largely composed of plastic. Christiana points out some of the smaller fragments floating in the collection bowl beside a plastic bag.

Most land-based debris is conveyed to oceans via urban runoff through storm drains. The main sources of plastic and other types of anthropogenic (human-made) debris in urban runoff include: litter (mostly bags, packaging and single-use disposable products), industrial discharges, garbage transportation, landfills, construction debris, and debris from commercial establishments and public venues.

From plasticdebris.org, a project of Algalita Marine Research Foundation and the California Coastal Commission: "80% of marine debris comes from land-based sources." Faris, J. and Hart, K., Seas of Debris: A Summary of the Third International Conference on Marine Debris, N.C. Sea Grant College Program and NOAA, 1994, title page.

The drive to Indian Beach in Ecola State Park has got to be one of the best beach drives in the entire state of Oregon. Sitka Spruce tower overhead as you meander along a shaded road through a dense coastal forest and lead you to a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. As this is a rock beach, there are many places for marine debris to get lodged. Needless to say, we found a lot of plastic. Unfortunately the beach-combing expedition was cut short and I was not able to collect or photograph as much as I would have liked, but among the items found were abundant bottle caps, plastic fragments, fishing rope, and oyster spacers from Japan.

This balloon was found washed ashore at 3 Mile Beach CA.

One of the more ubiquitous marine debris items is the balloon with curly-cue ribbons trailing behind, usually densely intermingled with seaweed.  I used to wonder what happened to released balloons once they left the fingertips of a birthday kid whose grip loosened or at the end of a celebration when the strings were cut and balloons were emancipated to the skies. Now that I’ve been looking, I see that they often end up in our seas and eventually, are brought back to our shores to show us where they’ve been. Aside from deadly entanglement issues, marine animals like sea turtles wind up mistaking floating balloons for squid and ingesting them. There have been many accounts of marine animals -- dolphins, whales, sea turtles, fish, and seabirds - sea turtles swallowing balloons. Balloons are usually found washed up singularly, but occasionally form twisted aggregations. Ribbons (made of plastic) used to tie balloons can pose more of a problem than the balloons, which can be made of natural latex.

Balloons make their way around the gyre just as any other piece of plastic would – there is no way to know the when and where of this balloon’s origins, but you can see from the accumulation of barnacles and algae that it has made its rounds through and possibly across the ocean. For every downed balloon you see on a beach, you can assume there are many, many more waiting to be ingested by sea life or washed ashore.

The following information is from Clean Ocean Action:

"Dr. Peter Lutz, noted sea turtle biologist in Florida, published a study in 1990 on the ingestion of latex balloon pieces by sea turtles....Dr. Lutz' study found:

1. When offered a mix of pieces of clear plastic and brightly colored latex, the turtles showed a strong preference for the latex pieces over the plastic.

2. In experiments with latex only, sea turtles demonstrated that if their appetite is sufficient, they will actively swim towards and ingest latex materials, that all colors are acceptable, and that the amount ingested will depend on their nutritional state.

3. The length of time that the latex remained in the turtle's intestinal tract ranged from a few days to four months, with a peak time period of eight weeks. (Note: the normal gut passage time in sea turtles is approx. 10 days.)

4. Turtles passed multiple pieces bound together, although they had ingested the individual pieces at different times, showing the possible cumulative effect of ingestion of latex balloon pieces.

Evidence of Impacts: Scientists who work with stranded whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles have been looking at the stomach contents of these dead marine animals. These scientists have found balloons, parts of balloons and balloon string during numerous necropsies.

Releasing balloons into the air is littering, and ultimately the balloons will return to earth. The balloon industry claims that balloons explode in many tiny harmless fragments when they reach a certain altitude. Beach Sweep data refutes this claim. Over 32,000 balloons were picked-up on beaches during the 1999 cleanup - clear evidence that many return to earth intact.