marine plastic debris on a white background

Baby fish have started eating plastic. We haven’t yet seen the consequences

Newborn fish are mistaking tiny bits of trash for food. If they die, there’ll be fewer big fish—and that could rattle the food chain.

FISH NURSERIES OFF HAWAII ARE NOW A MICROPLASTIC MESS.

The naturally oily surface slicks in which many ocean fish come of age are rich in plankton and other fish food—and now also in plastics, according to researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Honolulu. They’ve been towing finemesh nets through slicks off the Big Island and analyzing each haul. Here, a scribbled filefish, about 50 days old and two inches long, navigates a soup of plastic.
12 min read
This story is part of Planet or Plastic?—our multiyear effort to raise awareness about the global plastic waste crisis. Learn what you can do to reduce your own single-use plastics, and take your pledge.

This story appears in the May 2019 issue of National Geographic magazine.
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