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A Single Piece of Plastic Ruins a Nurse Shark’s Life in Australia 

Plastic in the ocean
Image via depositphotos

A nurse shark was spotted swimming around with a large piece of plastic stuck around her body. This heartbreaking video acts as a harsh reminder of what plastic pollution is doing to the animals in our oceans. 

Sad Sight

Screenshot from Shark spotted with plastic ring trapped around its body in NSW. Source: Youtube, Uploaded: 10 News First

The female Grey Nurse Shark appears to have a plastic ring tangled around her body, and painfully cutting into her flesh. A sad sight true to what happens when waste is not disposed of properly. 

What is it? 

Screenshot from Shark spotted with plastic ring trapped around its body in NSW. Source: Youtube, Uploaded: 10 News First

Divers from the Foster Dive Center at Seal Rocks on the NSW coast spotted the 5-foot shark with what appears to be a discarded frisbee caught around her body. And it’s caused the nasty gash on her body. 

How Did The Plastic End Up Around The Shark?

Screenshot from Shark spotted with plastic ring trapped around its body in NSW. Source: Youtube, Uploaded: 10 News First

It is difficult to say exactly how the nurse shark got stuck in the piece of plastic. However, the plastic was most likely discarded on the beach and the shark must have curiously swam up to the floating plastic thinking it was prey. Leading to her getting caught in it as she nudged the plastic with her nose, thinking it was potential prey. 

Helpless

Screenshot from Shark spotted with plastic ring trapped around its body in NSW. Source: Youtube, Uploaded: 10 News First

The plastic around the poor shark was too thick for the diver who found her to remove it. And what’s even more heartbreaking, when they saw her again she wouldn’t let them come close enough to help her! Leaving the divers devastated and heartbroken for the poor shark. 

More Sad News

Nurse Shark
Nurse Shark and yellow pilot fish close up on black background while diving in Maldives. Image by Izanbar via Depositphotos

What is worse is that it appears that she has been living with this piece of plastic around her for a while if looking at her injury. And the longer it stays around her body, the more pain she will have to endure. 

Wait, Sharks Feel Pain? 

Nurse Shark
Nurse Shark. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1016459

Yes, they do! Although sharks do not feel pain the same way humans do, they have neurons, similar to ours, that alert them of potential harm. So, in short, sharks do feel pain – especially this poor nurse shark. 

After Effects of Plastic

Image via depositphotos

As she grows and moves, the plastic will only cut deeper into her skin and cause even more nerve damage to the poor shark. Leading to her losing her ability to move around the ocean the way she should be able to. 

Loss of Movement 

Marine plastic pollution and nature conservation concept – penguin trapped in plastic net. Image via depositphotos

This loss of movement takes away from her life quality and her means of survival. As her restricted movement caused by the nerve damage from the plastic will eventually lead to her not being able to hunt, thus making her chances of survival scarce. 

Take 3 For The Sea

Image via depositphotos

After seeing this sad sight, a reminder was issued to all beachgoers in Australia, which is applicable around the world, ‘to take 3 for the sea’. This means that one should follow the rule of thumb to take 3 pieces of rubbish with you every time you leave the beach. 

Horrifying Stats

Bird stuck in polluted water with tar. Dying animals in industrial wastes. Dirty rivers and oceans with oil. Small goose in danger. Environmental problem. Harmful human. Ecological disaster. Image via depositphotos

As if this footage isn’t enough to make one want to pick up all the rubbish on our beaches, UNESCO estimates that there are between 50-75 trillion pieces of plastics and microplastics in our oceans. 

More Trash Than Fish 

Beautiful coral reef with sea anemones and clownfish polluted with plastic bag – environmental protection concept. Image via depositphotos

With that scary number already the reality of our oceans, it is believed that by the year 2050, the amount of plastic will outweigh the number of fish in our oceans! A scary possibility that can only be avoided if humans take responsibility for their actions! 

What Happens To Plastic In The Ocean 

Image via depositphotos

Doesn’t matter how far you are from the ocean, plastic you don’t properly dispose of could make its way into the ocean. Where it slowly breaks down into microplastics which enter the marine food chain causing damage to sea life. 

How It Harms Marine Life 

Image via Depositphotos

The plastic in the ocean doesn’t just affect sharks, but fish, sea birds, sea turtles, and other marine mammals too. They all run the risk of becoming entangled like the shark in the video. Or ingesting plastic debris which could lead to suffocation, drowning, or starvation. 

Types of Plastic is Found in the Ocean 

Coral reef pollution by household garbage and plastic bag. Ecological problem, Environmental Pollution. Image via Depositphotos

Basically, anything made of plastic you can think of! The plastics mostly mentioned are single-use plastics like bottles, food wrappers, cigarette buds, plastic straws, food containers, and plastic bags. So, think before you buy or discard plastic in the future! Every little bit of awareness helps. 

Plastic Pollution Facts 

Trash and garbage floating on the surface of the water. Image via depositphotos

Here are some hard-hitting facts about plastic: 

  • Plastic is accountable for 80% of all marine pollution
  • Plastic takes between 500 and 1000 years to degrade
  • Plastic either breaks down into microplastics or forms massive floating garbage patches in the ocean

Plastic and Conservation 

Image via Depositphotos

Many marine animals are already facing decreasing numbers due to human activity like overfishing, and the plastic pollution problem is making it worse. The NOAA estimates that 100,000 marine mammals are negatively affected by plastic each year. 

What We Can Do About It

Image via depositphotos

Conservation starts at home. And you can help by choosing reusable products over single-use plastics, recycling the plastics you do use correctly, disposing of your waste properly, and always leaving the beach with more plastic than you came! 

Call To Care

Image via Depositphotos

This heartbreaking story of a Grey Nurse Shark whose life is ruined by a single piece of plastic should remind all of us to care more and do what we can to reduce the plastic in our oceans. There is no need for animals to suffer by our hands! 

The Video

Screenshot from Shark spotted with plastic ring trapped around its body in NSW. Source: Youtube, Uploaded: 10 News First

Watch the heartbreaking video here.

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Latest posts by Nelleke van Niekerk, BSc Food Science (Biochemistry) (see all)