Download our free fact sheet for more information on microplastics
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Microplastics are small plastic items (less than 5mm in size) that are entering the marine environment and adding pressure to an already vulnerable system. At A Rocha, we want to see the ocean teeming with living things, not with our rubbish. We want to see transformation in how we humans interact with the seas on which we are so dependent. Our programme uses and participates in the latest scientific research and theological thinking to inform education, advocacy and conservation on a global scale.
We are currently working on microplastic pollution projects in Portugal, Kenya, and in the USA in both Southern California and Florida. We participate in the Great Global Nurdle Hunt and have given a number of presentations on microplastics.
The A Rocha family will join in the Great Global Nurdle Hunt, most likely in October 2021 – dates have not been announced yet. The method is simple: go to a beach, river, or lake nearby and search for plastic pellets (nurdles) for a set time. You then report your results here so that researchers globally can use your data. You can find more information about nurdles, what they are and how to find them in our Microplastics Toolbox. Join in on social media documenting your surveys using the hashtag #ARochaMarine and @greatnurdler.
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We support the UN’s goal to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution, including marine debris, by 2025 (Photo by Kevin Krejci)
Mussels and other shellfish have been found to accumulate microplastic particles from the water. There might be more in that plate of mussels than you bargained for…
Marine animals cannot digest plastic. Plastic items often remain in the stomach for life, or worse, pass into the intestines where they can cause blockages. It’s hard to imagine how this albatross would have ever managed to eat a proper meal with its stomach full of all this! (Photo credit: NOAA Marine Debris Program)
