Coastal Ecosystem Thrives on Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Scientists have discovered thriving communities of coastal creatures living on plastic debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, suggesting that plastic pollution in the ocean may be enabling the creation of new floating ecosystems of species that are not normally able to survive in the open ocean. The patch is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world, and is twice the size of Texas. The majority of the plastic found in the patch comes from the fishing industry, while between 10% and 20% of the total volume can be traced back to the 2011 Japanese tsunami.