"80% of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is estimated to come from land-based sources, with the remaining 20% coming from boats and other marine sources" "Most of the debris comes from plastic bags, bottle caps, plastic water bottles, and Styrofoam cups."
"These percentages vary by region, however. A 2018 study found that synthetic fishing nets made up nearly half the mass of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, due largely to ocean current dynamics and increased fishing activity in the Pacific Ocean."
More info about the patch:
"In reality, the majority of these patches are almost entirely made up of tiny bits of plastic, called microplastics. Even satellite imagery doesn’t show a giant patch of garbage. The microplastics of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can simply make the water look like a cloudy soup. This soup is intermixed with larger items, such as fishing gear and shoes. The seafloor beneath the Great Pacific Garbage Patch may also be an underwater trash heap. Oceanographers and ecologists recently discovered that about 70% of marine debris actually sinks to the bottom of the ocean."
False, the fishing industry is trying to push it onto land base sources. Paper straws will not do shit!! It is more 50/50, ranges from 46-49% fishing gear.
46% of the plastic is from fishing nets. Other types of fishing gear account for a substantial portion of the remainder:
A comprehensive new study by Slat’s team of scientists, published in Scientific Reports Thursday, concluded that the 79,000 tons was four to 16 times larger than has been previously estimated for the patch. The study also found that fishing nets account for 46 percent of the trash, with the majority of the rest composed of other fishing industry gear, including ropes, oyster spacers, eel traps, crates, and baskets.
48
u/nuniabidness Aug 12 '21
Not the majority, but still sickening:
"80% of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is estimated to come from land-based sources, with the remaining 20% coming from boats and other marine sources" "Most of the debris comes from plastic bags, bottle caps, plastic water bottles, and Styrofoam cups."
"These percentages vary by region, however. A 2018 study found that synthetic fishing nets made up nearly half the mass of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, due largely to ocean current dynamics and increased fishing activity in the Pacific Ocean."
More info about the patch:
"In reality, the majority of these patches are almost entirely made up of tiny bits of plastic, called microplastics. Even satellite imagery doesn’t show a giant patch of garbage. The microplastics of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can simply make the water look like a cloudy soup. This soup is intermixed with larger items, such as fishing gear and shoes. The seafloor beneath the Great Pacific Garbage Patch may also be an underwater trash heap. Oceanographers and ecologists recently discovered that about 70% of marine debris actually sinks to the bottom of the ocean."
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/