Animals can become entangled in items such as ropes or trapped in intact containers, such as drink bottles and buoys. In the South Pacific, more than 600 dead crabs were found trapped inside a single glass bottle (once they fell in, they were unable to get out).
Corals can also become smothered by plastic bags and sheeting, which impairs their ability to undertake photosynthesis, or they can be entangled in nets and line which cause damage.
More than 1,500 marine species have been documented as having ingested floating plastic by mistake. Once ingested, these plastics cause inflammation and scarring of bodily tissues, including the stomach, kidney and liver, leading to disease, impaired health, reduced body size - sometimes causing enough damage to kill them.
Pictured: Project Coordinator Ian found these fish trapped in a container on a beach in Queensland.
