Last night’s review of environmental news from Tristan Da Cunha is augmented by a separate report from Inaccessible Island, a member of the Tristan island group. Peter Ryan and Rob Ronconi were taken to Inaccessible Island in October, and began their visit with a survey of the impact of seaborne plastic litter on the local ecology.
“Our first task was to check the litter on the beaches, repeating surveys dating back to 1984. Not surprisingly the amount of litter washing up has increased, with some types of litter (such as plastic bottles and shoes) increasing faster than others. As before, most comes from South America, followed by oriental countries (presumably from their large fishing fleets operating in the South Atlantic). We also checked the amount of plastic eaten by seabirds by examining the pellets regurgitated by Skuas (Seahens). Compared to previous years, there was a marked increase in plastic. “
People have become used to hearing about the great garbage gyre in the Pacific Ocean. Perhaps this new report can give some needed focus to the South Atlantic’s own growing plastic problem.
