Plastics in your fish and shellfish

Here is an article which presents information of where plastics go in the ocean.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/23/plastic-ocean-pollution-fish-health_n_6923872.html
 Basically plastic does not go away. It does breakdown and seems to disappear but in reality it really just breaks down into smaller pieces that make it more available from a biological standpoint. Think filter feeders, small crustaceans and fish along with plankton. Apparently the plastic particles are so small that they are being incorporated in the tissues of these animals. As these animals are consumed by the next trophic level the plastics are bio-accumulating up the food chain. Some of the plastics themselves are toxic (hormone disruptors) and some can adsorb other pollutants pesticides/PCB's to their surface which in turn enter the food chain.
    We are getting a little extra with our seafood.  All the more reason to pick up and recycle our plastic waste or better yet reduce the use of plastics.

I agree, ban the plastic bags, go back to paper and support the timber industry, it is sustainable and does way more for the environment than TO the environment.

Agreed fellas. you cant go anywhere without finding plastic garbage laying around. unfortunately Dupont and other chemical corps. are in the 5 biggest on earth and will never stop. them are just making to much damn money, take them out of the formula and what would that do to the worlds economy? I shudder at the thought! look around every room of you home and try not to find something made of plastic. and dont forget our kayaks! our fishing line the lures we use . It is impossible to get away from.

   Sad truth is this will only get worse.    Apathy,  total disregard for the planet.   I've read the Pacific Gyre is twice the size of Texas.   And that was before the Japanese Tsunami..   
    One research vessel measured 6 parts plastic to one part plankton.    Bait fish to Pelagics to Humans... you'll never hear about this in the news. Advertisers don't want an informed public, they want consumers.
   We need a Non-Profit organization who's mission is to go out and mechanically harvest trash from our oceans.
        http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1

Thanks for the post halibutboy.  I recall discussing the hazards of plastics in a Water Pollutions course I took at Humboldt State.  You're spot-on with your post about plastics never really "going away".  They just break down into smaller and smaller particles until you have what are called "nurdles".  The amount of plastics in our waterways will only increase as we continue to produce them, and they never go away.

I also recall a bill where CA was going to ban major retailers from using plastic bags in the state.  Then I saw some articles coming up with people in vehement opposition of the bill, with most folks citing how the bill would crush jobs, and that people can't afford re-usable bags.  But I never saw anything from the opposition talking about the hazards of plastic bags upon the environment.  As for people unable to afford re-usable bags: I've seen them go for a buck apiece.  Spend three or four dollars and you have bags for years.  Does 3-4 dollars really break the bank?

I'm also not averse to increasing production of paper bags.  Anyone familiar with the history of forest management west of the Rockies would know that we have WAY more trees these days than before, even compared to pre-European settlement.  We got too good at putting out wildfires, and now for every tree we cut in CA, there are 18-20 trees growing in its place.  Too much biomass (sub-merchantable timber) and nobody wants to foot the bill to deal with it.  Not saying that paper bag production is the be-all, end-all for addressing our forest needs, but maybe it could play a role in a much larger solution?

Hi

I live in San Luis Obispo County where you have to pay $.10 for a paper bag at the grocery store. Sure, there are "optional" plastic bags for individual items from the green grocer department, but I personally just throw the items in my cart and roll with 'em up to the register. Of course, you can bring your own re-usable bag for convenience to transport to your vehicle after check out... 

Me - Likey, this socially accepted agreement. Down here it IS the norm! 

You might likey this too, but ya gotta do the dea-leo thru local channels = Vote!

Sorry if this post was not PC.

I Zod Out

Thanks for this. Spot on. All of you make me proud to be an NCKA member!

NotaSeal

yeah , I live in uber liberal sonoma county and I use reusable grocery bags and our grocery stores charge 10 cents for paper bags and even if we banned all the plastic bags on earth that doesnt get rid of the billions of tons of plastic waste already in the oceans and landfills and the bags a only a percent of the plastic waste we have created since the 1950s and earlier. so that being said banning the bags really isnt even going to scrape the surface of the problem. I really hate to say it but I think it is too late to turn back. so I try to forget it ,use the green bags and pretend it is going to make a difference. The truth is we are just as dependant on plastic as we are oil and we all are going to continue to use them I know I will.

.....banning the bags really isnt even going to scrape the surface of the problem....

Apathy certainly won't help anything. In Mendo county, since the removal of the plastic bags in most stores, the ditches and back roads are significantly cleaner and lacking that extra plastic.

I believe that the folks that do a Russian River cleanup here also noted the reduction in the plastics in the newspaper account of their efforts.

I know local fisherman that take their reusable bags with them to pick up trash at the beach and lake. Don't say it isn't helping.

plastic is the issue not just any garbage FX and I have cleaned up my favorite creek more times than anyone else i know of. but the plastic we all "clean up" ends up in landfills and some of it is carried away on wind or by birds and never ever goes away. you can pick it up but it is still here forever!

Burn it, burn it all! All the particulates in the air might make rain! #cloudseeding #nevadaiseast #donthufffumes #maybesome #packsabuzz #shootitintospace

Plastics, bottles and cans are the majority of items we pick up. A lot of fishing line as well depending on time if year and locale. We recycle all that is possible, not just send it to landfill.

I quit buying plastic when possible and quit using the 1 use plastic bags at the checkout counter.