Images show plastic peril on Reef

GREAT Barrier Reef or Great Garbage Patch?

Dramatic pictures show plastic pollution is piling up at an unprecedented rate at oncepristine parts along Queensland’s coast.

But it’s not just pristine bays and beaches that are dumping grounds for marine debris, it’s in the food chain too.

In this image, underwater photographer Christian Miller captured a green turtle eyeing off plastic flotsam in the waters off Cairns.

Turtles often mistake plas- tic bags for their favourite food, jellyfish, and they die a slow, painful death.

“The sad thing is, for as long as life exists, marine creatures were able to trust that everything the ocean provides is food,’’ Mr Miller said.

“It is not within an animal’s instinct to see the difference between organic ocean plastic.’’

The Fitzroy Island turtle rehabilitation centre director – who is part of the global movement Parley for the Oceans, working on plastic’s impact on marine life and solutions – also recently rescued a turtle tangled in rope and plastic bottles.

“We will probably only have about 10 years to turn this around,’’ he said. “If the ocean dies, we will die.”

In the Whitsundays, a fourday expedition by volunteers to island hot spots removes, on average, 2500kg of plastic debris. matter and