5 Times Marine Animals Picked Up Your Marine Debris

Remember that plastic bottle that fell out of your car, or the plastic bag that got away from you at the grocery store? Maybe you forgot to throw away your fishing line after a day on the water. To you these ordinary items may be a single piece of litter - that you swear you’ll pick up next time. But to many marine mammals these items can be life threatening.

Like for this sea turtle who swallowed an improperly discarded fishing hook instead of breakfast.

Luckily this turtle was found and rescued by the SeaWorld Orlando Rescue Team and the hook was removed quickly and successfully.

And this Sea Lion who got looped into a dangerous situation.

Some of the deadliest marine debris is likely to wrap around the neck of the sea lion or seal. The materials that most commonly cause neck entanglements are: Packing Bands, Large black rubber bands, Rope, Nets and Monofilament line. Help avoid this by recycling your leftover or used line and going bandless and eliminating packing bands.

Lets not forget this Seal who caught this fishing lure instead of some rays.

A lot of times, marine animals can accidentally swallow or get caught on materials like hooks, lures (like the one above) and line. These can be “silent killers”, causing unseen injury and death from within. Help avoid this by keeping these off of beaches and out of water and even supporting the development of biodegradable fishing gear.

Or every whale to ever get weighted down by your fishing lines, nets and buoys. Like this juvenile humpback rescued off the coast of San Diego in 2015.

And finally this dolphin calf that was almost taken from her mother because of entanglement.

Thanks to the SeaWorld Rescue team and a group of other incredible volunteers, this calf was untangled and the duo swam off safely.

Helping to keep debris out of our oceans is something that everyone can do. Start by joining the SeaWorld myActions Network and find how every small action you take makes a huge impact on our environmental. Also, join a local environmental organization and volunteer for clean-ups and help spread the word!