On November 19, 2018, 6kg (13.2 pounds) of plastics poured out from the stomach of a sperm whale's carcass. According to the news, it was discovered in the shallow waters near Kapota Island in the Wakatobi National Park.
Inside Its Stomach...
These sperm whales' food comes from hunting giant squids, shrimp, crap, small sharks, and other sea animals. This poor 9.5 meters (31 feet) long animal, however, had swallowed a terrifying collection of 115 plastic cups, bags, flip-flops, and even PET containers.
WWF Indonesia gave a precise breakdown of what the sperm whale had ingested.
"Hard plastic (19 pieces, 140g), plastic bottles (4 pieces, 150g), plastic bags (25 pieces, 260g), flip-flops (2 pieces, 270g), string/rope (3.26kg) & plastic cups (115 pieces, 750g)."
https://twitter.com/WWF_ID/status/1064667497733844992
Indonesia's Plastic Status
Indonesia is on the list of top 20 worst polluters of plastic waste, according to a 2015 study that discovered that 192 coastal countries contribute to a total of 8.5 million tons of plastic every year. With 264 million people and 1.905 million km2, this country is ranked second on it.
Starting To Take Action
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan is an Indonesian politician who coordinates Maritime Affairs of Indonesia. He told the Associated Press that this finding of the pathetic sperm whale should help raise awareness about plastic waste and an obligation of the 3R's (reduce, reuse, recycle). "People should learn to understand that plastic waste is a common enemy." He galvanized the government to take tougher actions for the ocean:
Aim to reduce Indonesia’s plastic use by 70 percent before 2025
Urge shops to stop providing plastic bags to customers
Begin an educational program in schools to educate children about the problems of plastic waste
It is very unfortunate that the disaster we have created a long time ago--plastic counterattack, is impacting the innocent marine lives.
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