For More Latest News Subscribe us: LONDON: Nearly 700 species of marine animal are threatened by man-made debris such as plastic and glass, according to a new global study. Researchers at Plymouth University in the UK found evidence of 44,000 animals and organisms becoming entangled in, or swallowing debris, from reports recorded from across the world. Plastic accounted for nearly 92 per cent of cases, and 17 per cent of all species involved were found to be threatened or near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List, including the Hawaiian monk seal, the loggerhead turtle and sooty shear-water. In a paper published in Marine Pollution Bulletin, authors Sarah Gall and Professor Richard Thompson present evidence collated from a wide variety of sources on instances of entanglement, ingestion, physical damage to ecosystems, and rafting - where species are transported by debris.

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