Aquarium staff recently returned from an expedition to the Bahamas. They'll be sharing pictures and stories from their time exploring the turquoise blue waters of Caribbean—complete with pictures, video, conservation notes and a taste of life on board a working boat. 

This post about a invasive species and marine debris comes to us from Austin, who normally cares for the shorebirds on Central Wharf.

Although all of the sites we dove on the trip were beautiful and had a diversity of fish and invertebrate inhabitants, we were still reminded daily of the negative impacts that humans can have on the ocean ecosystem. On nearly every dive we saw several lionfish. Lionfish are native to the Indo Pacific but were introduced to the US Atlantic coast in the 1980s, when home aquarium owners released them into the ocean.

Lionfish lurking

Now lionfish range from North Carolina to South America and have spread throughout the Caribbean in less than five years. Their venomous spines deter would-be predators and they have been documented to consume over 70 species of native fishes, threatening the population levels of these native fishes and the diversity of the reef. There are current efforts to research the spread of lionfish, and to encourage people to eat them in order to reduce their numbers.  Lionfish is a delicacy (only the spines contain venom and these can be easily removed).  We were lucky to try some lion fish ceviche on the trip!  You can find out more about invasive lionfish here.

Lionfish ceviche

We also observed a large amount of plastic pollution on the beaches where we went ashore, even on the uninhabited island of South Cat Key where we seined for needlefish.



Plastic debris in the ocean is a huge problem of which more and more people are becoming aware. Not only is it unsightly but it can be ingested by marine animals (this is a major threat to the health of some sea birds like albatross) or entangle them.

Plastic debris, even on uninhabited islands in the Caribbean

Many plastics that end up in the ocean seem to disappear over time but in fact are still present as tiny particles. The effect of these particles on the food web after they are initially ingested by plankton remains unknown.

Learn about plastics in our oceans:

• Watch a recorded lecture about marine debris clean-up in Boston Harbor and the Gulf of Maine in this Aquarium Lecture Series talk by Rachel Miller.
• Follow an Aquarium educator on an expedition to the giant Pacific Garbage Patch.
• See what divers found on a pristine reef in Indonesia (you guessed it, plastics!)

Kim McCabe is a Visitor Education Specialist at the New England Aquarium. She recently returned from an expedition in the North Pacific ocean studying plastic debris and its impact on the marine ecosystem. She'll be sharing some of her observations and reactions through the coming over the coming days.



Sometimes I find it hard to believe that a month and a half ago I was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  I was out so far that the closest people to my ship were not in California, or in Hawaii.  They were in the International Space Station over our heads!  I traveled to one of the most remote ecosystems on the planet, sailed over 2500 miles, and didn’t see land for over a month.  Now, the adventure is over, and I am left to reflect on our accomplishments and discoveries

Sunset in the gyre

What we discovered was a LOT of plastic. We counted almost 70,000 pieces of plastic! I knew, before joining this expedition, that plastic was out there, but I was still astonished by the sheer quantity of plastic particles inhabiting the open ocean. It made me realize: coastlines may receive the brunt of our ecofootprint, but NO part of the planet goes unaffected.

So what can we do? Well, it became immediately apparent to me that a massive ocean clean-up is not an option. Not only is this economically unrealistic, but also, because of the size of these plastic particles it is impossible to take out the plastic without taking out the plankton. So, the best way for us to help is to stop the flow of plastics into the ocean. We can reevaluate our relationship to plastic and realize the true environmental impact of using something once that will last for decades.

Here’s some things you can do to make a difference as consumers and citizens:

• REDUCE REDUCE REDUCE! Recycling is a great idea, but it is not a solution. It still drives consumption of petroleum, requires a lot of energy and is only an option for some kinds of plastic. Don’t use plastic unless you have to.
• BYOB: Bring your own bag! Bring your own bottle! Two million plastic bottles every five minutes is far too many. You never have to use one again.
• Avoid using single use plastics (straws, cutlery, plater, styrofoam cups, etc.). Traveling with your own coffee mug and utensils is an easy was to accomplish this.
• Shop local! Visit farmers markets and bulk aisles.
• Become an advocate: Tell your families and friends about trash in the ocean, talk to your local representatives about how to eliminate wasteful, single-use plastics.

Photo: Jon Waterman via

Plastics in the ocean has been covered on Aquarium blogs several times, unfortunately. Learn about finding plastic debris on remote Indonesian reefs, in the open waters around Costa Rica, around islands in the Bahamas and learn how some people in Dominica are learning to reduce, reuse and recycle.