A nurse shark was spotted swimming around with a large piece of plastic stuck around her body. This heartbreaking video acts as a harsh reminder of what plastic pollution is doing to the animals in our oceans.
Sad Sight
The female Grey Nurse Shark appears to have a plastic ring tangled around her body, and painfully cutting into her flesh. A sad sight true to what happens when waste is not disposed of properly.
What is it?
Divers from the Foster Dive Center at Seal Rocks on the NSW coast spotted the 5-foot shark with what appears to be a discarded frisbee caught around her body. And it’s caused the nasty gash on her body.
How Did The Plastic End Up Around The Shark?
It is difficult to say exactly how the nurse shark got stuck in the piece of plastic. However, the plastic was most likely discarded on the beach and the shark must have curiously swam up to the floating plastic thinking it was prey. Leading to her getting caught in it as she nudged the plastic with her nose, thinking it was potential prey.
Helpless
The plastic around the poor shark was too thick for the diver who found her to remove it. And what’s even more heartbreaking, when they saw her again she wouldn’t let them come close enough to help her! Leaving the divers devastated and heartbroken for the poor shark.
More Sad News
What is worse is that it appears that she has been living with this piece of plastic around her for a while if looking at her injury. And the longer it stays around her body, the more pain she will have to endure.
Wait, Sharks Feel Pain?
Yes, they do! Although sharks do not feel pain the same way humans do, they have neurons, similar to ours, that alert them of potential harm. So, in short, sharks do feel pain – especially this poor nurse shark.
After Effects of Plastic
As she grows and moves, the plastic will only cut deeper into her skin and cause even more nerve damage to the poor shark. Leading to her losing her ability to move around the ocean the way she should be able to.
Loss of Movement
This loss of movement takes away from her life quality and her means of survival. As her restricted movement caused by the nerve damage from the plastic will eventually lead to her not being able to hunt, thus making her chances of survival scarce.
Take 3 For The Sea
After seeing this sad sight, a reminder was issued to all beachgoers in Australia, which is applicable around the world, ‘to take 3 for the sea’. This means that one should follow the rule of thumb to take 3 pieces of rubbish with you every time you leave the beach.
Horrifying Stats
As if this footage isn’t enough to make one want to pick up all the rubbish on our beaches, UNESCO estimates that there are between 50-75 trillion pieces of plastics and microplastics in our oceans.
More Trash Than Fish
With that scary number already the reality of our oceans, it is believed that by the year 2050, the amount of plastic will outweigh the number of fish in our oceans! A scary possibility that can only be avoided if humans take responsibility for their actions!
What Happens To Plastic In The Ocean
Doesn’t matter how far you are from the ocean, plastic you don’t properly dispose of could make its way into the ocean. Where it slowly breaks down into microplastics which enter the marine food chain causing damage to sea life.
How It Harms Marine Life
The plastic in the ocean doesn’t just affect sharks, but fish, sea birds, sea turtles, and other marine mammals too. They all run the risk of becoming entangled like the shark in the video. Or ingesting plastic debris which could lead to suffocation, drowning, or starvation.
Types of Plastic is Found in the Ocean
Basically, anything made of plastic you can think of! The plastics mostly mentioned are single-use plastics like bottles, food wrappers, cigarette buds, plastic straws, food containers, and plastic bags. So, think before you buy or discard plastic in the future! Every little bit of awareness helps.
Plastic Pollution Facts
Here are some hard-hitting facts about plastic:
- Plastic is accountable for 80% of all marine pollution
- Plastic takes between 500 and 1000 years to degrade
- Plastic either breaks down into microplastics or forms massive floating garbage patches in the ocean
Plastic and Conservation
Many marine animals are already facing decreasing numbers due to human activity like overfishing, and the plastic pollution problem is making it worse. The NOAA estimates that 100,000 marine mammals are negatively affected by plastic each year.
What We Can Do About It
Conservation starts at home. And you can help by choosing reusable products over single-use plastics, recycling the plastics you do use correctly, disposing of your waste properly, and always leaving the beach with more plastic than you came!
Call To Care
This heartbreaking story of a Grey Nurse Shark whose life is ruined by a single piece of plastic should remind all of us to care more and do what we can to reduce the plastic in our oceans. There is no need for animals to suffer by our hands!
The Video
Watch the heartbreaking video here.
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