Plastic & the Sea

The sea holds enormous natural and recreational values, but unfortunately the world's oceans are increasingly threatened by human production, consumption and movement both on land and at sea.

This also applies here on the West Coast – which is precisely why we would like to focus on what is happening in and with our oceans.

Flasker og bøtter skyllet op på stranden

Ocean Plastic

Plastic in the oceans is a growing problem – also along the Danish coasts. Every year 8-10 million tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans, and 1000 tons find their way to the beaches along the West Coast.

The majority of the millions of tons of ocean plastic in the world's oceans are invisible to us, as they lie deep below the surface – in fact, around 90% ends up on the ocean floor. In the ocean, waves, salt water and sunlight break the plastic down into smaller and smaller pieces. But it takes hundreds of years for the plastic to completely disappear.

Plastic waste comes from cities, industries and marine activities and is intentionally or accidentally dumped into the ocean. The waste is a threat to life in and around the ocean. Birds, fish and marine mammals risk dying when they become entangled in or eat the ocean plastic.

Photo: Vangså Beach, February 2021

Pellets

Pellets are plastic as a raw material. Plastic companies use the small plastic balls to manufacture virtually all types of plastic products and packaging. Unfortunately, leaks often occur in the production chain – it can be during production or transport – and millions of the small plastic balls end up in nature and in the oceans.

Pellets are a major direct source of microplastic pollution in the ocean. This is also true here on the West Coast, where they can be found in the sand on all our beaches.

Photo: Bøgsted Rende, March 2020

Pellets på strand med sømærke i baggrund

State of the ocean

Marine plastic pollution is visible to all of us when plastic waste washes up on our beaches. But there are a number of threats to the state of the ocean, both above and below the surface, that we cannot see.

Chemistry in the sea

Chemistry in the sea

A number of environmentally hazardous substances are found in both Danish marine environments and fish. The chemical substances break down very slowly and therefore remain in the marine environment for many years. Here they can cause genetic damage and problems with reproduction in fish and marine animals. It is difficult to trace where the substances come from exactly, but they can originate from the burning of coal and oil, from waste and processes in industry or from plastic that has been given different properties. When the plastic ends up in the sea, so do the chemical substances.

Kvælstof-udvaskning

Nitrogen discharge

Oxygen depletion is another “invisible” threat to marine life. When excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus are discharged from the agricultural, transport and energy sectors, algae production increases in the ocean, which can lead to oxygen depletion on the seabed. This both destroys seabed life and threatens the population of certain fish species.

Klima-forandringer

Climate change

The ocean naturally absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere. The increased amount of CO2 in the atmosphere means that the ocean absorbs more and more CO2. When CO2 dissolves in the ocean, it reacts with water and forms carbonic acid. The carbonic acid breaks down calcium, thereby acidifying the ocean. Acidification is a serious threat to fish fry and organisms with calcium structures such as coral reefs, mussels and crustaceans. With climate change, the temperature in the ocean is rising and ocean currents are changing. At the same time, increased precipitation means more nitrogen is leached from land. The consequences are changed living conditions for life in and around the ocean and a much more vulnerable marine environment.

Commercial fishing

Commercial fishing

The extent and method of fishing are of course also of great importance for the state of the sea. Fishing must be gentle and sustainable, and here beam trawling is a pure disaster. It destroys the seabed, and the number of animals and species is significantly reduced. This has consequences for biodiversity and the food base that we and the fish are deeply dependent on. Fortunately, very few of our Danish fishermen here on the West Coast fish with beam trawling.

Learn about the ocean and marine plastic

Come take a walk on the beach and help remove plastic from our nature while learning about the ocean, marine plastic, and what we can do together.

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