Ocean Garbage Devastates Marine Food Resources

How Trash Destroys the Marine Food Web

• Plastic Ingestion: Animals mistake debris for food → starvation, internal injury, toxin uptake.
• Entanglement: Nets, bags, ropes trap wildlife → impaired feeding, drowning.
• Habitat Destruction: Smothers reefs, seagrass, mangroves—nurseries for countless species.
• Chemical Leaching: Pollutants enter water, accumulate in tissues, disrupt hormones/reproduction.
• Ecosystem Cascades: Loss of one prey species ripples through the food chain.
• Biomagnification: Toxins concentrate up the chain, threatening top predators—including humans eating seafood.

Urgent Need

Reducing marine litter is critical to preserving ocean health and the food security of billions.