Avoiding the Mermaid Tears

Summertime is approaching here on Oahu, and with summer comes the southerly swells. This is good news for those of us who surf on the south side of the island. One of our favorite bodysurfing spots is a place called Makapu'u, a beach located on the South East corner of Oahu. Makapu'u is quite possibly one of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever seen; bright white sand meets crystal clear turquoise water, lined with high cliffs inhabited by nesting seabirds. As beautiful as it is, Makapu'u is far from pristine.

Because Makapu'u is located on an east-facing shore, it is an unfortunate recipient of the marine debris that escapes from the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" in the middle of the North Pacific Gyre. For those unfamiliar with the North Pacific Gyre, it is a current system that circulates the North Pacific Ocean in a slow, clockwise spiral. The currents collect plastic and other marine debris from the surrounding land and deposit them in the center of the gyre, which has been dubbed the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." Hawaii's east facing beaches are some of the few spots where the gyre comes into contact with land, and as a result are covered with all kinds of plastics from fishing nets and floats down to nurdles or mermaid tears.

Nurdles, or mermaid tears, are in my opinion, the most annoying form of marine debris. They are small, white spheres of pre-production plastic that end up as trash on the beach even before they have the chance to become the plastic that we all use on a day to day basis. I remember walking on the beach as a kid, coming across nurdles and thinking they were tiny balls of surf wax. I had no idea that pre-production plastic even existed. So, for those of you who have no idea what a nurdle actually is (besides fun to say…), here are a few nurdle facts for you:

-Nurdles are very small pieces of plastic which are designed to be melted down and then molded or otherwise shaped to make plastic materials

-Small pellets represent the most economical way to ship this pre-production plastic to where it needs to go in order to become the plastic that we all use everyday

-Over 250 billion pounds of nurdles are shipped around the world to plastic processing factories every year

-Nurdles come in rail tank cars, and at 20-25,000 per pound, there are about a billion of them in each tanker

-The most common source for nurdles in the ocean is industrial spills from trucks and container ships; because nurdles are so small, they are hard to contain, and they slip away from containers and into waterways or into the ocean directly

-Nurdles now represent about 10% of the litter counted on beaches worldwide

In addition to nurdles, there are other kinds of “Mermaid Tears”:

-The other form of mermaid tear is a small piece of plastic similar in size to a nurdle, caused by the wearing down of finished plastic items

-Studies on the plastic debris in the ocean seem to suggest that mermaid tears only break down up to a certain point, and after that, they will float in the ocean for thousands or perhaps millions of years. As they become smaller and smaller, mermaid tears are harmful to more and more organisms in the sea

Mermaid tears are a problem for a number of reasons:

-The first and most obvious is that they are ingested by marine animals, who cannot digest plastic. As a result, animals can sicken or die with large numbers of mermaid tears in their digestive tracts, and bigger organisms may then consume them when they eat the smaller organisms. As a result, plastic becomes widely distributed in the marine food chain.

-Mermaid tears can also contain chemical pollutants. In addition to the chemicals naturally present in plastic, these small plastic pellets can also pick up other chemicals and contaminants, ranging from toxins to endocrine disruptors.

Here is a video that shows some of the effects that plastics have on the Laysan Albatross that hunt for food in the middle of the gyre...

The short story is that mermaid tears are a problem. Not only aesthetically as is the case for Makapu'u, but for the food chain and the ocean in general. The good news is that there is a solution to this problem: we need to change the way we consume single use plastics. For every single use plastic, there is a reusable solution. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Reusable Bags. These days, there is little excuse for not bringing your own bag to the store. I find it helpful to leave a few reusable bags in my car. Remembering to bring your own bag takes some training, but a good way to help yourself remember is to force yourself to carry what you buy if you forget to bring your bag. I can tell you from experience that struggling with groceries is somewhat unpleasant and helps me try harder to bring a bag the next time. (www.envirosax.com)

2. Reusable Coffee Cups. This one was a tough one for me to get used to. I really like the act of going to a coffee place, getting my coffee in the paper cup and going about my day. For whatever reason, coffee doesn't seem as appealing to me in the tumblers that you can buy at the store. Fortunately, Smart Planet makes reusable cups that look and feel like the ones you get at a coffee house, making the transition from disposable to reusable a bit easier. (www.smartplanethome.com)

3. Reusable Water Bottles. You may be thinking: "I don't like to drink tap water," or "Bottled water tastes better" and if that is the case, there is a solution for you too...Brita makes a waterbottle that comes with a built-in filter. Plastic waterbottles and caps produce up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste each year and should be avoided if at all possible. (www.Brita.com)

These are just a few of the things that have helped me cut down on my own use of single use plastics. I am still far from perfect, but am working on cutting down my plastic consumption every day and every time I visit a beach like Makapu'u, it reminds me to try a little harder to be responsible. If we all change just a few of our habits, future generations of bodysurfers might have a chance to play on plastic-free beaches.

Fore more information on the North Pacific Gyre and plastics in the ocean, visit:

Algalita Marine Research Foundation
www.algalita.org

5 Gyres
www.5gyres.org