SIngle-use plastic and fishing line on St Maarten dive sites

Recently the Nature Foundation St Maarten found a lot of trash, especially single-use plastics and fishing line on our local reefs. Research has found a link between plastic and disease on coral reefs. The likelihood of disease increases from 4 percent to 89 percent when corals are in contact with plastic and it suggests that ocean waters with lots of plastic waste might also carry other pollutants that could also be contributing to higher rates of coral disease, a ban on single-use plastics is needed in order to protect this invaluable natural resource.