Fishermen More Likely To Catch Plastic Garbage Instead of Fish In The Oceans By 2050, World Economic Forum Says

by Dalal Nasif / Jan 25, 2016 10:25 AM EST

Plastic Garbages are taking over the homes of fish in the oceans faster than what was thought of (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

The number of plastic garbages in the oceans may soon reach grave heights and undermine the fish population, The World Economic Forum said in their latest report titled "The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics." The study compiled information from different sources across the globe to present the urgent need to enforce proper disposal systems for plastic

As technology steps ahead to discover more uses for plastic, the worldwide production for plastic products skyrocketed to a massive 311 million tons in 2014 from just 15 million tons in 1964. Estimates project that plastic production will double in another 20 years, as reported by The Inertia.

According to Time, storage products made of plastic accounts for over a quarter of the industry's overall production, valuing at $120 billion each year.

Even though the need to keep plastic usage in moderation is barely felt at present, the presence of bulks of plastic in the oceans in different parts of the globe paints a threatening future for the ecology. The study found that eight million tons of these plastic waste is dumped into water bodies each year.

It was calculated that an equivalent of one garbage truck filled with plastic material is being dumped into the ocean every minute. Without significant action that number will increase to four per minute, the study suggested.

"The best research currently available estimates that there are over 150 million tons of plastics in the ocean today," the report revealed. "In a business-as-usual scenario, the ocean is expected to contain 1 ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastics than fish (by weight)."

CNN News reported that people have been exercising poor recycling patterns for plastic products, which only stands at a 14% recycling rate, a striking comparison to the 85% rate for reused paper and 90% for steel. Experts say that governments might have to give more incentives for people to encourage them to collect plastic garbage and recycle them.

The World Economic Forum also suggested that waste collection systems should be improved to minimize leakages into the oceans. The alarming figures not only pose a threat on fish, but the rest of marine life.