By Natalee Tygard
Sea life is such a beautiful thing. Who would want such an adorable creature like a baby sea turtle
or something as elegant as a dolphin to be harmed? This can happen every time someone
intentionally does not throw something away or even if a piece of trash like a plastic bag blows away.
These creatures can suffer for it. For example, did you know that sea turtles eat jellies, morecommonly known as jellyfish and seaweed? If a sea turtle goes to eat what resembles what they think
looks like a jelly and it turns out to be a plastic bag, they could choke on it. We never would wish or want
that to happen to them. Every time we do not care or lose our trash, it affects them. Another
example would be fishing hooks and fishing lines. Fishers may think that tossing their leftover fishing line in
the water is not going to be a problem or may not care what damage it causes, but it can get caught around
the tails or fins of most sea creatures. This can cause animals like dolphins or whales to drown if they
cannot get back to the surface to breathe. It can also cause the fins and tails of other creatures to lose
circulation and no longer work properly. Another example would be that over the years, there have been islands of
trash forming and continuously building up in the middle of oceans. These islands are polluting the
water and causing similar problems to the examples I have depicted.
To help prevent these tragedies before they happen, we can do many things like when we have
trash, we can find and use a wastebasket to dispose of it. We can use items that are biodegradable or that
do not need to be thrown away because they are reusable. We can also recycle so that our waste is used
to make something new. A way for us to help fix the problem is to help clean up our environment. When we
have a beach day or any day out in nature, we can bring a bag to help us clean up any litter
we find. Whenever you throw something on the ground or let something blow away, think about how it could
affect our beautiful animals and planet. We all do not want any sea life or any animal to have to suffer
because of our mistakes. These animals already have to deal with the hardships of living in the wild. Let us
not give them another thing that they have to stay protected from!
