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Tiny Plastic Amounts Prove Deadly for Marine Life
18 Nov
Summary
- Ingesting less than 3 sugar cubes of plastic can kill a puffin
- Loggerhead turtles have 90% chance of death after 2 baseballs' worth of plastic
- Nearly half of sea turtles, a third of seabirds, and 12% of marine mammals had plastic in their digestive tracts when they died
According to a comprehensive new study published on November 17, 2025, even tiny amounts of plastic can prove fatal for marine life. Researchers from Ocean Conservancy analyzed over 10,000 necropsies worldwide to determine the lethal doses of plastic for various species of seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals.
The study found that ingesting less than 3 sugar cubes worth of plastic is enough to kill a puffin, while loggerhead sea turtles have a 90% chance of death after consuming just 2 baseballs' worth of plastics. For marine mammals like harbor porpoises, about a football's worth of plastics can be deadly.
The scientists also discovered that nearly half (47%) of all sea turtles, a third (35%) of seabirds, and 12% of marine mammals had plastics in their digestive tracts when they died. They determined that rubber, hard plastics, and fishing gear are particularly lethal for different groups of marine creatures.
To address this growing crisis, experts say governments must take action to reduce plastic production and improve waste collection and recycling. "Every policy and every individual action matters in the fight to protect our marine wildlife," said Ocean Conservancy's director of plastics policy, Dr. Anja Brandon.
