Plastic Pollution Killing 1 Million Seabirds Every Year

Guntur: College of Food Science and Technology associated dean Dr D Vishnu Sankara Rao has said  oceans are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breath.

The World Oceans Day was celebrated under the aegis of Forum for Better Bapatla in Bapatla on Friday.

Speaking on this occasion, Rao said that oceans were a major source of food and medicines and a critical part of the biosphere and added that they help regulate the global climate and ultimate source of water that sustains all life on earth. 

He said that they protect our biodiversity and added that around three billion people depend on oceans for their livelihood. He said plastic pollution was causing tremendous harm to our marine resources. 

He further said that 80 per cent of all pollution in the ocean comes from people on land.

He said that plastic pollution costs the lives of 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals per year. 

Plastic causes $8 billion damage to marine ecosystem each year. There was an urgent need to safeguard our seas from pollution and protect their health.