International Seal Day: How Plastic 'Necklaces' Are Hurting Seals 🦭💔
\"You can always tell in the wild if a seal was entangled because they'll have a ring around them—a permanent ring,\" says Evangelos Achilleos, manager at East Winch Wildlife Center and front-line seal rescuer.
Seals with scars from fishing nets, flying rings, and other marine debris are known as \"necklace seals.\" Behind this seemingly cute name lies countless heartbreaking stories. 😢
Did you know that 67% of aquatic mammals like seals, sea lions, and walruses are at risk of entanglement? According to a 2019 study by the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, entanglement from marine debris remains one of the biggest threats to these creatures even today.
Every year, about 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean. 🌊 That's like throwing an entire garbage truck full of plastic into the sea every minute! According to the journal Science, nearly 2% of all fishing gear—millions of square kilometers of nets and lines and over 25 million pots and traps—are lost to the ocean annually. That's a massive underwater minefield for marine life! 🐠🕸️
On this year's International Seal Day, March 22, let's shine a light on the plight of the \"necklace seals.\" It's time we take action to protect these adorable ocean dwellers from our plastic waste. 💪🌍
Reference(s):
International Seal Day: How plastic 'necklaces' are killing seals
cgtn.com
