A major New Zealand conservation group is urging the NZ government to end production of single-use plastic, after research suggested that the Tasman Sea was the riskiest place for sea birds to ingest plastic
Further research also suggested that there will be more plastic in the ocean by 20-50 than fish. Forest and Bird are urging the NZ government to support the ban.
The Tasman sea is populated by one third of the worlds seabird species, which is disproportionately affected by even a small amount of plastic in the area.
Karen Baird of Forest and Bird, stated that “We know that a third of the turtles found in New Zealand waters have plastics inside them... and chicks are basically being fed a diet of plastics and are starving to death.”