The Shocking Scale of Water Pollution in the Caribbean Sea

A huge mass of plastic garbage such as plastic cutlery and bottles, styrofoam packaging, and random bits of plastic has been found floating in and infiltrating the Caribbean sea.

Late last year, Caroline Power, an underwater photographer who hopes to encourage others to share her passion with oceans and start taking notice of the issues it is facing, shared shocking images showing the massive scale of plastic pollution in the Caribbean waters.

During Power’s venture into the Cayos Cochinos Marine Reserve in Honduras, she photographed how the Carribean Sea’s been blanketed with a devastating stretch of plastic waste and styrofoam between the islands of Roatan and Cayos Cochinos, off the coast of Honduras.

In her interview with The Telegraph, she said multiple trash lines stretched from horizon to horizon during their dive trip to a set of islands that were supposed to be one of the most pristine dive sites in the Caribbean. What was then pristine is now covered with plastic waste and packaging of all shapes and sizes, including ziplocks, chip, grocery, trash, and snack bags.

According to John Hourston of the ocean conservation group The Blue Planet Society, the plastic waste found by Powers and her team came from the Motagua River in Guatemala. Because there is no formal garbage collection in this country, garbage is merely dumped along river banks and areas near rivers. And, it has already been an issue in the region for some time.

Photo Credit: Ricardo Claros

Wastes dumped along by Guatemalan residents are washed into their rivers, such as the Motagua River, and flow

straight to the Caribbean Sea when the seasonal rains come.

Plastic pollution by the numbers

Plastic pollution in our bodies of water is a serious issue not most people are aware of. But, through Power’s photos, more and more people become aware of the severity of plastic pollution in our oceans. Here are some alarming statistics of plastic pollution in the sea:

What we can do about this issue

If plastic pollution in our waters isn’t addressed with urgency, in the near future, there will be more plastic waste than fishes and marine animals in our seas and oceans. Here’s how to be of help:

• Reduce your environmental footprint or waste emissions.
• Eliminate the use of plastic. Use reusable bags, bottles, and containers instead.
• Ditch the use of plastic straws and styrofoam food packaging.
• Practice proper waste management.
• Participate or volunteer in beach clean-up drives in your local community.
• Donate to organizations working to protect the oceans.

If we won’t do even the little things we can to help conserve our environment and our bodies of water, plastic pollution will choke our oceans to death completely. We must take action ASAP.

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