How little plastic does it take to kill marine animals? Scientists have answers

0:00 0:00 1x

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here .

Just six pieces of rubber smaller than a pea can be fatal to seabirds, new research shows, revealing shockingly low thresholds for plastic mortality.

Researchers found plastic in 35% of seabirds, 47% of sea turtles and 12% of marine mammals in examining 10,000 animal autopsies.

With 11 million metric tonnes of ocean plastic yearly expected to triple within two decades, wildlife face mounting threats.

Ocean plastic kills sea creatures. It can obstruct, perforate or twist their airways and gastrointestinal tracts.

Now new research shows it takes just 6 pieces of ingested rubber the size of a pencil eraser to kill most sea birds.

For marine mammals, 29 pieces of any kind of plastic