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marine debris

A World of Plastic

Marine debris is any man-made solid material that has been directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed or abandoned into the marine environment (NOAA, What is marine debris?). 60% to 80% of all marine debris is composed of plastic (Derraik 2002). Plastics are lightweight, durable, and cheap synthetic organic polymers. This has allowed them to…

Help Our New Jersey Sea Turtle Population

Onboard the American Star, we may encounter a Loggerhead Sea turtle (Caretta caretta) swimming in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean or the Delaware Bay along the coast of Cape May. These reddish-brown marine reptiles are the most common sea turtle to spot along the coastal waters of New Jersey. Although the Loggerhead sea turtle…

Effects of Marine Debris on Whales

 As many of you have already seen on the news or read online, far more than thirty sperm whales have washed ashore in Europe since the beginning of last year. Four of the thirteen whales found in Germany were discovered to have large amounts of plastic waste in their stomachs. The marine debris included a…

The Blue Whale

The Blue Whale  General Facts: The Blue Whale is the largest animal in the world, growing up to 110 feet long (33 meters), they are larger than the biggest dinosaur. The blue Whale is a baleen whale, like the humpback whale we see in Cape May, New Jersey, it has no teeth but it has baleen plates at the top of its mouth. The baleen plates allow the blue whale to eat up to 2,200 pounds of food a day, keeping their weight consistent at 330,000 pounds. How many blue whales are there? At one time blue whales were hunted for their blubber to make oil for clocks and lamps. They were almost hunted to the point of extinction but due to the U.S Endangered species Act it became illegal to hunt blue whales around the world. Over time, blue…