Overview
- Researchers report that as few as six pea‑sized pieces of rubber create about a 90% chance of death for certain seabirds, with hard plastics requiring higher counts.
- Loggerhead sea turtles face roughly a 90% fatal risk after ingesting about two baseballs’ worth of plastic, with both soft and hard items implicated.
- For marine mammals, about 29 pieces of plastic of any type is often lethal, with soft plastics and fishing gear identified as especially hazardous.
- Plastic was found in 35% of necropsied seabirds, 47% of sea turtles and 12% of marine mammals, underscoring widespread exposure in the dataset.
- Authors emphasize the study captures rapid gastrointestinal fatalities only and urge production cuts, targeted bans and stronger waste systems as more than 11 million metric tonnes of plastic enter oceans each year.