Graphic images of four single-use plastic bags being pulled from the stomach of an emaciated tiger shark has added weight to a push for a blanket ban on bags in Australia.
Marine biologist Murray MacDonald said the evidence was mounting that people could not continue to throw away plastic as they had done.
“We have to rethink how we use plastic,” Dr MacDonald said.
He said floating bags were most likely confused by the shark for squid, part of the animal’s natural diet.
“For smaller fish feeding on plankton the same problems occur with microplastics. As people look they’re finding plastic in every ocean in the world,” he said.
The former fisheries scientist said the animal would not have been able to digest the bags, leaving it feeling full and slowly starving to death.
I recorded it to document this kind of thing. The word needs to get out.
- Commercial fisherman Jason 'Trapman' Moyce
“Those bags in the shark would make it weaker and weaker because it’s not getting any energy,” he said.
“I’ve seen the same in sea birds. The microplastics are an increasing problem, because before it was only the obvious larger pieces, which we now know become smaller and smaller.”
The Queensland government’s ban on single-use plastic bags begins on July 1 which is when supermarkets will stop handing them out at the checkout.
Consumers will have to bring their own reusable bags.
Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said society had to rethink the amount of plastic used.
“I am proud that the Palaszczuk government is leading the way to reduce the amount of plastic pollution in Queensland,” she said.
“Our ban on plastic bags, and our Container Refund Scheme, will help to combat plastic pollution and the growing tide of marine debris found along Queensland’s coastline.
“Astonishingly, about 75 per cent of the marine debris collected along Queensland’s coastline is plastic waste.”
The video was captured by Bermagui, NSW, commercial fisherman Jason “Trapman” Moyce, who said he noticed the sickly shark, with its stomach bloated, while fishing for bronze whalers in March.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before. The plastic bags had been in there a while,” the 45-year-old said.
“I recorded it to document this kind of thing. The word needs to get out.
“This region is supposed to be pristine and non-polluted. If this is happening, what chance has the ocean got?”
His video has gathered almost 300,000 views, with many people sharing their shock at the confronting images.
“We're killing our planet. I can remember as a child getting shopping in brown paper bags,” Jean Stirling posted.
In April, nearly 30 kilograms of plastic was discovered in the stomach of a beached juvenile sperm whale in Spain, and in 2017 Norwegian scientists found more than 30 plastic bags inside the stomach of a Cuvier's beaked whale.
“Soon there will be a greater mass of plastic than life in the ocean,” Dr MacDonald said. “It shows we have to get rid of single-use plastic bags.”
Alternatives to plastic are growing.
Anneliese Hallam, 33, is selling her MiBoo bamboo straws, an alternative to plastic.
“The key is getting people to think about as many alternatives to plastic as possible,” she said.
“All of us well-meaning humans are part of the problem and we’re all accountable.”
Dr MacDonald said the NSW government was behind other states and territories and should ban single-use plastic bags outright and not rely on the private sector to regulate their use.
