In this Oct. 15, 2019, photo, seabirds fly over Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. While understanding exactly how many birds die as a result of plastic in their stomachs is hard to do, researchers say the skeletons that dot the landscape of Midway are a visceral reminder of the impact plastic has on the environment. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 15, 2019, photo, a seabird sits in a tree on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Flying into the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway Atoll appears out of the vast blue Pacific as a tiny oasis of coral-fringed land with pristine white sand beaches that are teeming with life. But on the ground theres a different scene: Plastic, pollution and death. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)Concentrations of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean.;In this Oct. 15, 2019, photo, a Laysan duck, which is endemic to Hawaii and one of the rarest birds in the world, swims in a pond on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. With virtually no predators, Midway is a safe haven for many species of seabirds and is home to the largest colony of albatross in the world. But Midway is also at the center of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a vast area of floating plastic collected by circulating oceanic currents. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 15, 2019, photo, a seabird chick sits next to its burrow on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In one of the most remote places on Earth, Midway Atoll is a wildlife sanctuary that should be a safe haven for seabirds and other marine animals. Instead, creatures here struggle to survive as their bellies fill with plastic from faraway places. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 22, 2019, photo, plastic sits in the decomposed carcass of a seabird on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Midway is littered with countless bird skeletons that have brightly colored plastic protruding from their now decomposing intestines. Bottle caps, toothbrushes and cigarette lighters sit in the centers of their feathery carcasses. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 22, 2019, photo, plastic sits in the decomposed carcass of a seabird on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Midway is littered with countless bird skeletons that have brightly colored plastic protruding from their now decomposing intestines. Bottle caps, toothbrushes and cigarette lighters sit in the centers of their feathery carcasses. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 15, 2019, photo, a green sea turtle rests on the beach among marine debris on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In one of the most remote places on Earth, Midway Atoll is a wildlife sanctuary that should be a safe haven for seabirds and other marine animals. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 15, 2019, photo, plastic sits in the decomposed carcass of a seabird on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The deaths are a visceral sign of the impact plastics have on the environment. In the Pacific and other oceans around the world, circulating currents pull together vast areas of plastic that seabirds and marine wildlife either eat or get entangled in. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 22, 2019, photo, dead seabirds lie on a pier with plastic debris on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Midway is littered with countless bird skeletons that have brightly colored plastic protruding from their now decomposing intestines. Bottle caps, toothbrushes and cigarette lighters sit in the centers of their feathery carcasses. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 15, 2019, photo, an endangered Hawaiian monk seal, left, and a green sea turtle rest on a beach on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Halfway between North America and Asia in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Midway Atoll is a tiny speck of land that U.S. officials have reserved as a wildlife sanctuary, home to some of the worlds rarest seabirds and endangered marine animals. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 22, 2019, photo, plastic and other marine debris sits on the beach on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In one of the most remote places on Earth, Midway Atoll is a wildlife sanctuary that should be a safe haven for seabirds and other marine animals. Instead, creatures here struggle to survive as their bellies fill with plastic from faraway places. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)In this Oct. 22, 2019, photo, plastic sits in the decomposed carcass of a seabird on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In one of the most remote places on Earth, Midway Atoll is a wildlife sanctuary that should be a safe haven for seabirds and other marine animals. Instead, creatures here struggle to survive as their bellies fill with plastic from faraway places. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
In this Oct. 15, 2019, photo, seabirds fly over Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. While understanding exactly how many birds die as a result of plastic in their stomachs is hard to do, researchers say the skeletons that dot the landscape of Midway are a visceral reminder of the impact plastic has on the environment. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
