Bird Ingestion of Plastic in North Pacific Among Highest in the World

by Jaymi Heimbuch

The deadliness of ocean plastic pollution for birds and other animals should come as no surprise. It is something biologists have witnessed for years, including among the albatross of Midway. But the rate at which seabirds are ingesting plastic is surprising. A new study by US and Canadian scientists shows that seabirds in the northwest waters are gulping up far more plastic than they once did — at rates among the highest in the world.