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Today is Earth Day, a celebration initiated by EARTHDAY.ORG to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It includes a wide range of events coordinated globally in more than 193 countries. The theme this year is “Planet vs. Plastics” with EARTHDAY.ORG demanding a 60 % reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040.
To participate in this special day, the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation wishes to sensitise about plastic pollution in the ocean which is affecting seabirds. It is a fact that seabirds are among the most threatened animal groups in the world. Among the issues they have to contend with, is climate change or accidental capture in fishing gear. But one of the biggest threats that they are exposed to nowadays is plastic pollution. Every year, 11 million metric tons of plastics enter our ocean on top of the estimated 200 million metric tons that currently circulate our marine environments. It is becoming increasingly common to find dead seabirds with stomachs full of plastic. Seabirds frequently ingest plastic by mistake, especially small coloured plastic, or plastic bags, confusing them for their prey. They also ingest plastics secondarily through items consumed by their prey. The plastics accumulate in the stomach of the birds, causing impaction, and a slow death that may take years of ill-health and compromised breeding. Harmful chemicals also leach from the plastics, and are absorbed by the birds into the blood stream and tissues.
According to published research, such as the ‘Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds’, published in 2023 in www.nature.com, many seabird species are affected by this type of marine pollution but large birds such as albatrosses and petrels are particularly at risk since they retain plastics for years due to their gut morphology.
One of the birds potentially at risk is the Round Island Petrel (Pterodroma arminjoniana), which is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; we are monitoring the birds for signs of plastic ingestion. This bird breeds on Round Island, the only known breeding colony for this bird in the world. This seabird is a hybrid of three species of petrels, all meeting on Round Island, but when non-breeding, they roam widely in the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean as confirmed by geolocators (electronic devices inserted on the leg band that registers global movement of the birds and use of the marine space).
The ‘Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds’ consists of tracking 7000 petrels of 77 different species. This data was merged with existing maps of marine plastic pollution to generate an "exposure risk score" for each species. This allowed researchers to generate a precise picture of where seabirds are most likely to meet oceanic plastic concentrations.
The findings indicate that many of these species spend a significant amount of time at sea in locations with high concentrations of plastic. Plastic exposure danger was greatest in confined waters where plastic may become trapped, such as the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. However, petrel species are in danger of meeting plastic in isolated areas of the ocean, such as the south-west Indian Ocean. This is mostly due to vast systems of cycling ocean currents known as mid-ocean gyres, which move plastic garbage hundreds of kilometres from its origins, including the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. One of the five main gyres, the Indian Ocean gyre, occur East of Madagascar and contributes to the accumulation movement of plastic debris.
The study revealed that plastic accumulation occurs mostly in the high seas, far beyond the waters of the countries where seabirds breed, it highlights the fact that international cooperation would be the key to tackling marine plastic pollution. Good waste management for every country is also crucial to stop plastic from reaching the ocean.
Over and above these global actions, each one of us could start at our individual level by using less plastic product while also ensuring that we are not contributing to oceanic plastic waste. Let’s Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Rethink, Refuse!! The alarming accumulation of plastics seen at Le Caudan Waterfront during the passage of Belal cyclone in January this year indicates how much plastic pollution are ending up in the sea due to our uncivil actions. By decreasing our consumption of plastics products, we will contribute to help prevent these plastics from ending up in the ocean and thus prevent petrels and other seabirds from being affected by this planetary pollution of gigantic proportions.
