All the Earth s oceans and seas are actually one huge body of water. Humans throw about 5.4 million tonnes of litter into the ocean every year. Billions of litres of untreated sewage gush into waterways from cities and communities every year. Besides human waste, this raw sewage contains a profusion of toxic chemicals, grease, oil, plastic bags and other synthetics, rags, gravel, and hair. Estuaries are important nursery grounds for two-thirds of all animals that live in the sea.
Jellyfish can be as small as a pea or as big as a patio umbrella.
Beach surveys at Sable Island, an uninhabited island located 300 kilometres southeast of Halifax, have recovered 11,183 items of human garbage 92 per cent of it plastic. The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth. Seventy-five per cent of ocean pollution comes from human activities on land. Over two-thirds of the world s human population lives within 80 kilometres of the ocean. Most of the world s polar bear population lives in Canada.