PLASTIC WASTE: DEADLY TO SEA LIFE
FIGURE 12.11 Larger pieces of plastic waste in the oceans regularly ensnare unsuspecting sea life. This sea turtle (left) was trapped in a bundle of fishing gear off the coast of Central America and would almost certainly have died if not released by this Seaman of the U.S. Coast Guard. The Laysan albatross chick (right), like thousands of others, was fed bits of plastic that its parents mistakenly ingested as they skimmed the ocean surface in search of squid or fish eggs. Unlike the parents, however, the chick cannot regurgitate the plastic; thus, its digestive tract gradually filled with the indigestible material and the chick eventually died.
(Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicole Picklo) (Linny Morris/The New York Times/Redux)