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By Mark Molloy
Telegraph.co.uk
A photographer has captured the damage being done to the planet's oceans with a shocking “sea of plastic and styrofoam” image taken near a tranquil Caribbean island.
Caroline Power, who specialises in underwater photography, has dedicated her career to highlighting the damage plastic waste is doing to our oceans.
She said witnessing the plastic blanket of forks, bottles and rubbish between the islands Roatan and Cayos Cochinos, off the coast of Honduras, was “devastating”.
“To see something that I care so deeply for being killed, slowly choked to death by human waste was devastating,” she told The Telegraph.
“Once the trash is in the ocean, it is incredibly difficult and costly to remove. The key is to stop the trash before it enters the ocean.
“In order for that to happen, we need to improve waste management, environmental education and recycling facilities on a global scale. This is a developed nation (first world) problem as well.”
The worst of the rubbish the dive team found was about 15 miles off the coast of Roatan heading towards the Cayos Cochinos Marine Reserve
“We were on a dive trip to a set of islands that don't quite break the ocean surface. They are one of the most pristine dive sites in this part of the Caribbean,” Ms Power recalled.
“The photo of the diver in the water was actually over one of these seamounts. To see an area that is supposed to be pristine covered in garbage and trash was disheartening.”
She said they passed through floating garbage for “nearly five miles”, adding: “Everywhere we looked, plastic bags of all shapes and sizes: chip bags, ziplocks, grocery, trash, snack bags, other packaging. Some were whole and the rest were just pieces. Sadly, many turtles, fish, whales, and seabirds will mistake those bits of plastic for food.
“We then reached an area about two miles wide that had multiple trash lines that stretched from horizon to horizon
“There was also a seemingly infinite number of plastic forks, spoons, drink bottles, and plates. There were broken soccer balls, toothbrushes, a tv, and so many shoes and flip flops.”
Blue Planet Society, an organisation campaigning to end overfishing and the overexploitation of the world’s ocean, believes the rubbish originated from the Motagua River in Guatemala, washing into the sea during heavy rains.
They said the images were “unbelievable”, adding: “We see a lot of shocking images of environmental destruction. This is right up there with the worst.
“Trash from Motagua River in Guatemala polluting Honduras coast has been an issue in region for some time.”
Rubbish in the Caribbean Sea Credit: Caroline Power Photography
Ms Power adds, “there is a lack of infrastructure and education, so many people either burn trash or throw it into rivers”.
Conservationists Oceana Europe said the photos had left them “shocked, sad and angry, but not surprised”.
They added: “If we don’t change our behaviour now, we’re going to have more plastic than fish in the ocean.”
300 million - tons of plastic produced globally each year
12 per cent - amount of plastic which is recycled
Five trillion - pieces of microplastic in ocean, with one rubbish truck load added each minute
11,000 - pieces of microplastic ingested by humans each year from seafood
780,000 - microplastics humans will ingest by the end of the century if trends continue
8.5 billion - plastic bags used in English supermarkets annually before 5p charge
6 billion - estimated bags removed from circulation annually at last count, an 80 per cent reduction.
12 minutes - useful lifespan of average plastic bag
Ms Power says she hopes her photos will encourage others to “make changes to their habits and daily lives to help protect and conserve this planet”.
“It was also motivating; I drastically increased efforts to reduce my environmental footprint after seeing that,” she said. “I hope the photos will inspire people to do the same.”
She has asked anyone who wants to help the region's conservation efforts to donate to the Roatan Marine Park, a non-protect organisation working to protect Roatan’s fragile coral reefs.
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You can send a check or money order to: The KTAO Project P.O. Box 1086 Crestone, CO 81131 or donate online:  |
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