The marine environment has become a very real problem, the ocean is continuously being polluted with plastic, endangering the existence of marine species. Have you ever wondered what happens to the plastic floating in the ocean? How does it affect the animals living in the sea…and those living on land? To help us understand the severity of this problem, we have invited Martina Cutajar, a marine biologist and Site Manager with Nature Trust FEE Malta to elaborate on this topic.
How does ocean plastic pollution endanger marine species?
Plastic makes up 95% of floating waste present in the Mediterranean Sea and beaches. Plastic injuries pertain to both large pieces of plastic and also smaller fragments. Large plastic material can be ingested by protected and endangered species blocking airways and passageways. This makes it difficult of the animals to breathe and eat. Animals may also be caught in large plastic material, becoming severely entangled. As these organisms swim, the entanglement worsens, often times resulting in the animal needing amputation of one (or more) of its appendages due to the severity of the injury sustained. Microplastics have however reached an all-time record of concentration in the Mediterranean with 1.25 million fragments per km2. These small pieces of plastic are easily ingested by several large and small marine species. These pieces of plastic are not digested and simply fill up the stomach of the marine animal, often leading to death by starvation. In a recent marine turtle rescue, a juvenile loggerhead turtle expelled 28g of these plastic fragments. These plastic fragments are bioaccumulated in food chains and their impacts biomagnified as they go up the trophic levels of a food chain.Are there any local marine species in danger of becoming extinct due to the state of the Mediterranean Sea?
Marine Turtles, including the loggerhead turtle which is known to nest on Maltese beaches, is considered vulnerable to extinction as per the IUCN’s red data list last assessment in 2015. The population of this species has seen a rapid decline. The loggerhead turtle reaches reproductive maturity between 20 and 33 years of age. Therefore, if organisms of this species are severely injured prior to it reaching reproductive maturity, several potential off-springs are lost. The common bottle-nosed dolphin is also vulnerable to extinction according to the IUCN’s red data list with one of the major threats for its vulnerable population being plastic pollution. Others include several fish species and also sea bird species.What is Nature Trust Malta’s role in protecting marine life?
Nature Trust FEE Malta coordinates and undertakes rescue and rehabilitation of Maltese wildlife including the marine turtles, namely loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). We also deal with marine mammals such as the common bottle-nosed dolphin and the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). Nature Trust has a Wildlife Rescue Team of trained volunteers, under the necessary Environment and Resource Authority permits. The Wildlife Rescue Team responds to calls of injured or distraught animals, report to the site, rescue the animal in distress and proceed to take it to a veterinary and to the Wildlife rehabilitation centre subsequently. A rehabilitation team then takes over to care for the animal for the duration of their stay at the rehab centre providing all the medication required while monitoring the animal’s recovery. During the animals’ stay at the Rescue Centre, constant visits by the veterinary are held. Once the animal is certified as fully recovered and adequate for release, the animal is released back into the wild, sometimes with a tracker on its carapace allowing us to track the animal’s swimming routes. We also strive to create awareness on the injuries sustained by the different animals which fall under our care, using videos and educational material on our social media pages, in schools and within the community. If anyone encounters an animal in distress kindly call on 99999505.