It’s a devastating sight, but it’s not uncommon.
A diver in Indonesia came across another stark reminder of all the plastic pollution swirling in the oceans.
British diver Rich Horner was exploring a site known as Manta Point near the island of Nusa Penida, the largest of three islands off the southeastern coast of Bali, when he spotted a soup of jellyfish, foliage and garbage. While Bali has become a hot spot for tourists over the years, it’s also infamous for the trash that collects on the island’s shores and waters.
Horner posted footage of the trash-filled site, usually frequented by large manta rays and other marine life, to Facebook on Friday.
“The ocean currents brought us in a lovely gift of a slick of jellyfish, plankton, leaves, brunches, fronds, sticks, etc…. Oh, and some plastic. Some plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic cups, plastic sheets, plastic buckets, plastic sachets, plastic straws, plastic baskets, plastic bags, more plastic bags, plastic, plastic, so much plastic! Surprise, surprise, there weren’t many Mantas there at the cleaning station today… They mostly decided not to bother.”
UPDATE: As expected, the next day, what the currents bringeth, the currents taketh away! The divers who went to Manta Point report they saw no plastic/trash at all. Great for the mantas coming in for a clean at the station, but, sadly the plastic is continuing on its journey, off into the Indian Ocean, to slowly break up into smaller and smaller pieces, into microplastics. But not going away.
