'Should never happen in Florida waters': 1 in 25 Florida manatees killed by ingested plastic: Analysis

APOLLO BEACH, Fla. — Ocean Conservancy is warning that plastic pollution is threatening Florida’s beach communities, which include manatees, sea turtles, seabirds, dolphins and whales.

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According to the group, a baseball-sized piece of plastic can kill an adult Florida manatee and pose a similar risk to other marine wildlife.

The Ocean Conservancy said data showed nearly 1 in 6 Florida manatees (16%) had plastics in their digestive systems when they died; for 1 in 25, plastic killed them.

Ocean Conservancy

“When plastic trash gets caught in seagrass meadows, manatees aren’t able to pluck it out while grazing. They swallow it and suffer the consequences. That should never happen in Florida waters,” aid Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker, Ocean Conservancy’s director of Florida conservation.

Other Florida species are also at risk, including sea turtles.

This chart shows the amount of ingested macroplastic likely to cause death in various animals

Ocean Conservancy

State Senator Ileana Garcia (R-Miami) is the sponsor of Florida Senate Bill 240, a legislation introduced to the Senate on Jan. 13 that would preempt all regulation of single-use plastic containers by Florida, while making it mandatory for the Department of Environmental Protection to establish the marine-waste reduction plan. SB 240 would also allow state parks to restrict single-use plastics.

How can someone help?

The Ocean Conservancy said ocean clean-up events have helped remove over 250,000 pounds from Florida beaches and waterways.

More solutions provided by the Ocean Conservancy include:

• Reducing other forms of single-use plastics throughout the state
• Expanding fishing gear disposal stations and retrieval programs
• Strengthening stormwater capture and filtration systems for microplastics and other contaminants
• Ensuring plastic producers share responsibility for material recovery and cleanups