Witt presents the public health concerns associated with the Great Specific Garbage Patch (GPGP), a collection of marine remains and plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean. Consisting of nearly 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, the state of the GPGP poses a significant threat to marine life. Due to microplastics and discarded fishing nets, the GPGP has led to a ghost fishing epidemic (the trapping of marine life by abandoned fishing nets) that harms fish, crustaceans, marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds.
Although organizations such as The Ocean Cleanup have been taking actions to reduce the size of the GPGP, Witt’s case study concludes more research and management actions are necessary to address the pollution disaster.