World-wide, an estimated 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year from entanglement in, or ingestion of, plastics. On Grassholm, off Pembrokeshire, over 90 per cent of the gannet nests contain plastic, which often entangles the young chicks. The Orkney Seal Rescue Service is recovering increasing numbers of seals found entangled in netting. All seven species of sea turtle are threatened with extinction - many that are found dead on beaches have plastic bags, which they mistake for jellyfish, blocking their guts. But it's not only wildlife which faces a deadly obstacle course of marine debris left in the wake of humans.
Divers also suffer from the increasing amounts of rubbish both above and below the low water mark.
Dive sites are being polluted with sewage debris, fishing debris and consumer waste. Call 01989-566017 for details.