The ocean's visible 'garbage patches' are not where plastic does the most ecological damage: entanglement risk in coastal waters is more than 100 times higher than in the open ocean, and under current emissions there will be 2.8 times more ocean plastic by 2060. The researchers also warn that 'biodegradable' fishing gear can cut entanglement risk while raising ingestion and pollutant-toxicity risk as it fragments.
A Nature Sustainability study led by Tulane University combined a global marine plastic transport model with multi-size marine organism datasets to map where plastic actually harms wildlife. It assesses four separate hazard pathways — ingestion, entanglement, adsorbed pollutants such as methylmercury and PFOS, and leached additives including bisphenol A and phthalates — and projects risk to 2060 under different emissions scenarios.
