TRASH TALK: Impacts of Marine Debris

Would you want to swim at a beach littered with trash? Of course not. And the animals who live in the ocean don't either - the difference is they don't have a choice.
Marine species often become tangled in debris, from fishing nets to six-pack rings and many mistake plastic debris for food, and eat it. This fills their stomachs with junk they can't digest.Debris can also damage important habitats, like coral reefs, by breaking or smothering them. Corals serve as the base of the marine ecosystem, and impacts here can be felt all the way to you and me. Let's prevent those impacts on wildlife. We need the ocean - and everything in it. And the ocean needs us to keep it free of debris.