Balloons and other Debris as a Marine Problem for Birds

Marine debris is any man-made object intentionally or unintentionally discarded, disposed of, or abandoned that enters the marine environment. Approximately 80% of debris originates onshore and 20% from offshore sources.

Types of marine debris are:
cigarette butts and lighters; food packaging; Styrofoam; plastic pellets; abandoned fishing gear; plastic bags; tires; metal containers; appliances and machinery; plastic containers; hard hats; cloth; crates and pallets; balloons; medical waste; glass bottles; plastic straws; balloons.

Some types of marine debris persist in marine environments for extremely long periods – Mylar balloons (centuries), derelict fishing gear (centuries), plastic bags (centuries), cigarette butts (2 – 10 years), monofilament (600 years), plastic bottles (450 years), 6-pack holder (400 years), aluminium cans (200 – 500 years), and Styrofoam buoy (80 years)

Marine debris affects birds in two ways entanglement and ingestion.

Entanglement –a bird gets ensnared in the loops and openings of debris. Fishing line, netting and string can entangle birds’ wings and feet. As they struggle to get free, they get even more entangled and can drown, starve or strangulate. Six pack rings are especially hazardous to diving birds and surface feeders. Nearly invisible in the water, birds dive through them and get them stuck around their beaks or necks. Osprey and other birds will use fishing line in their nests, creating a hazard for their nestlings.

Ingestion – Birds can mistake debris for food, and ingesting it can cause internal injury. Indigestible trash often remains in the stomach of the bird, and reduced stomach capacity can lead to malnourishment and death. Forty-four percent of seabird species have been documented as ingesting marine debris. Plastic, which floats and does not easily degrade, is often consumed. Birds especially prone to eating plastic are surface feeders such as albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters; and plankton-feeding divers such as auklets and puffins. Albatrosses are commonly found with stomachs full of plastic, and one study found 98 percent of fulmars had plastic in their stomachs—an average of 31 pieces in each bird. Seabirds eat plastic debris that is toxic when ingested, causing reproductive failure or death.

So remember with balloons - What goes up must come down! Balloons return to the land and sea where they can be mistaken for prey and eaten by animals. Balloons are hazards when they enter the aquatic environment because they can look a great deal like jellyfish—a major source of food for many animals. Sea turtles, dolphins, whales, fish, and seabirds have been reported with balloons in their stomachs. It is believed that they mistake balloons for jellyfish which are their natural prey.

Balloons exposed floating in seawater deteriorated much slower than those exposed in air, and even after 12 months of exposure still retained their elasticity.

Of course, not all plastic floats. In fact around 70 percent of discarded plastic sinks to the bottom. Scientists have counted around 110 pieces of litter for every square kilometer of the seabed, a staggering 600,000 tonnes in one area alone. These plastics can smother the sea bottom and kill the marine life which is found there.

• WHAT YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE MARINE DEBRIS
  Never intentionally discard any item into the marine environment
  Tie it down, secure it, stow it
  Secure all plastic wrap and packaging
  Reduce, reuse, and recycle
  Properly dispose of trash and fishing gear
  Participate in coastal cleanup programs
  Buy recycled products with little or no packaging
  Keep cigarette butts off streets and beaches
  Cut the rings in plastic six pack holders
  Set a good example and educate others about marine debris.

So BASQ suggest to you to think about our birds, reduce marine debris and encourage others to reduce marine debris pollution as well. We also encourage members to send an email to Lance Ferris urging Fiona Simpson MP, Deputy Opposition Leader and Deputy Leader of the Nationals, Member for Maroochydore, to support the ban of mass release of helium balloons in Queensland. Lance will file the emails and present them, when he attends the Environment Minister's office in Queensland.