About 90% of seabirds have ingested some kind of harmful plastic debris. That percentage has now risen unfortunately higher than when it was approximately 5% in 1960. Ingesting plastic causes build up which leads to gut impaction, which is one of the main killers of seabirds. In order to decrease the amount of plastic ingested, the "hotspots" must be identified. (Which is where the most seabirds are found.) The solution to this problem is actually quite simple- if the flow of plastic is significantly reduced from being thrown out into the ocean, the likelihood of swallowing harmful material is decreased, leaving the birds more time to recover from swallowing other plastics.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34108017
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