By now, many of us have seen the heart-wrenching video of the turtle with a Plastic straw lodged in its nose, but so much more happens to our sea turtles that is causing devastation to their population. Due to Ocean Pollution, sea turtles often mistake tiny bits of plastic for food and consume them. This makes the turtles extremely ill and unable to accurately obtain food for their needed nutritional consumption. Moreover, many dead sea turtles have been found to have fibropapillomas from the ocean pollution surrounding them. This disease causes cauliflower-like tumors to appear on the turtle’s body often causing blindness, breathing problems, and organ dysfunction.
Science estimates there will soon be more plastic in our oceans than there will be fish. Fish impact a ton of ecosystems which in turn affect marine and land animals. Ocean animals often eat smaller fish, but most of the fish in our oceans are consuming plastic. This is detrimental to the health of thousands of animal species in our oceans. However, it doesn’t just stop there because humans are eating the same fish that are consuming plastic-- making the plastic consumed by us. Plastic is not biodegradable or digestible, which makes our bodies work harder to cope with the influx of plastic in us.