Litter

Hi again! This post would be telling you more about litter. The threat by marine litter is a very simple one that is often overlooked. Many concerns about marine litter have been largely aesthetic. However, the issue of marine litter is serious and is life threatening to Hebridean cetaceans and other marine life.Threats posed by seaborne debris are mechanical in nature when cetaceans become entangled or ingest debris.
Many animals can become ensnared by litter. The litter can become embedded in the flesh as tissue grows around it. For instance,getting trapped in discarded fishing nets is a major threat. Photographs taken by SeaLife Surveys and HWDT have shown that a number of whales have been found to have creel lines and plastic straps wrapped around their rostrums. One was observed with fishing net trapped over its whole head. Such entanglement can impair an animal’s ability to swim, breathe and find food. Between the years 1992 and 2000, 15 out of the 70 minke whales stranded in Scotland died due to entanglement. Entanglement may also cause injury and wounds as the animal tries to disentangle itself from netting or ropes, which can also subsequently lead to infections. We can help to reduce marine litter by throwing our stuff into the litter bin, instead of throwing it into sea. These little things that we can do will help to save marine life.
~~~~~~Megan~~~~~~