The effect of marine litter on the Albatross.

I have singled out the plight of the Albatross as it is the victim of marine litter in nearly every ocean in the world, showing that marine litter is a world-wide problem. I have also chosen it as it is the largest of birds species Even the smalllest of the species has a wingspan of 6 feet. The Wandering and Royal albatrosses have an 11 feet wingspan. They weigh twice that of a bald eagle - 26lbs - yet fly effortlessly.

The albatross spends 95% of its lifetime flying out at sea.  They only use land for breeding.  They breed on remote islands thousands of miles from any continent.

An albatross may make a round trip of several thousand miles taking up to two weeks to return to feed its chick.

Earth orbiting satellites have tracked their amazing feats of flight. They can cover distances equal to flying around the Earth at the Equator 3 times in a year.  A fifty year old albatross will have flown easily 3.7 million miles.

Albatrosses live so far from humankind yet their destiny is dependent upon our actions.

In ancient times the sighting of an albatross was a warning of a storm up ahead.  They were a talisman aginst the fury of the sea. They symbolise the reincarnated spirit of drowned sailors.

In Samuel P. Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', the mariner shoots the albatross that had been following the ship. The winds drop and his ship fails to make headway. 
'And I had done a hellish thing
And it would work 'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.'

The sailors slowly die of thirst.
'Water, water everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink'

This poem, although written in 1798, seems so prophetic because we are surrounded by oceans which we are slowly making unfit for marine animal survival. Our oceans are full of plastic debris. It does not biodegrade, it is not 'disposable' and it doesn't go 'away'. Instead it breaks down into minute floating fragments which mimic small fish and plankton. The Albatross feeds on these brightly coloured plastic fragments until its digestive tract is blocked and it slowly starves to death. Only two ounces of plastic is lethal. 

We do not kill albatrosses deliberately.  Most of us have no idea what is floating around there in the oceans. That is the problem. Once we realize that none of the plastic bottle tops we use every single day are recyclable, that a lot of the plastic packaging we buy in our weekly shop is not recyclable, we start to look at packaging in a completely new way.

It is difficult to make the connection between a plastic bottle top and a species of bird threatened with extinction.  The film I am working on is intended to do just that.  I want to show how the ubiquitous plastic bottle top is lethal once it finds its way to the sea.  All I ask is that you suspend your judgement temporarily and let me show you what I mean.