Plastic Passengers (aka Invasive Species)
When plastic floats around in the ocean, sea life uses it to hitch a ride and to set up home. This causes problems for our native sea life as it brings invasive species to places where they shouldn’t be.
Invasive species are creatures that are found in places where they wouldn’t naturally be, for example Florida Rock Snails in Dorset!
This can do a lot of harm to the sea life that usually lives here as other species can destroy the native creatures.
We see this problem on land too, with Japanese knotweed, pampas grass and grey squirrels. The problem of plastic passengers could have just as much impact.
Ocean Conservancy state that this causes $1.4 trillion in damage per year.
Have a look at this article on their website to see some more pictures of amazing creatures that are where they shouldn’t be.
How does this happen?
This happens when sea creatures attach themselves to litter that has been discarded and made its way into the ocean. This litter then floats around and travels thousands of miles to land on shores a very long way from where it started.
But is this a problem here?
Have a look at this interesting article from the Daily Mail about the problem. It has photos of litter that washed up in Dorset with sea life attached that definitely shouldn’t be here!
In the UK Marine Strategy it says that there are around 60 species in UK seas that aren’t native. It also says that there are more on the south and south-west coasts than in the rest of the UK.
Source: Gov.uk Marine Strategy Part One (page 20)
So yes, it is a problem here as much as it is anywhere else.
What can I do to help?
Have a look at our blog pages to find out how to make simple switches to reduce your use of single-use plastics.