New Study: Whales Are Ingesting Huge Amounts of Microplastic
Back to Resource LibraryTopics
Audiences
Type
Highlighting the growing problem of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans, whales swimming off the California coast are ingesting millions of tiny pieces of plastic every day, a new study led by marine biologists at Stanford University has found. Blue whales, the largest animals on Earth, are each consuming about 10 million pieces of “micro-plastic” daily — or as much as 95 pounds a day in some cases — nearly all of it found in the krill and other tiny organisms they eat. Smaller fin whales are ingesting roughly 6 million pieces of the confetti-like litter a day as they feed. And humpback whales that primarily eat fish are eating about 200,000 pieces a day, the study estimated.
