Hundreds of seabirds on Lord Howe Island are dying each year with stomachs full of plastic, according to new findings from Adrift Lab, a marine pollution research group that has tracked seabird health for nearly two decades.
Researchers found that Flesh-footed Shearwaters, which migrate to nest on the island between October and May, are ingesting record levels of plastic – including balloon clips, bottle caps and pen caps. One chick, just 80 days old, had swallowed 778 fragments.
Marine ecologist from Adrift Lab, Alix de Jersey said the research points to serious biological impacts including gut damage and signs of neurotoxicity.
“In recent years, we’ve observed some of the highest plastic loads ever recorded in this species,” Ms de Jersey said.
“Flesh-footed Shearwaters are a sentinel species. They show us what’s happening further out at sea and what might eventually come ashore.”
SOURCE: Bond et al, 2021, ‘Plastics in regurgitated Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes) boluses as a monitoring tool’
Most of the fragments found come from degraded household and consumer plastics, often fishing gear, hard packaging and industrial waste, which birds mistakenly identify as food. Occasionally, intact items such as takeaway cutlery and oyster spacers are recovered during necropsies or lavage procedures.
While Lord Howe Island is a remote UNESCO World Heritage site, it sits near the East Australian Current, a plastic-carrying gyre that funnels marine debris directly through the birds’ foraging zones.
Seabird chicks remain in burrows for almost 90 days. During that time, they are fed regurgitated food by their parents – food that increasingly contains plastic. In some cases, plastic accounts for five to ten per cent of a chick’s body weight.
The birds appear healthy but due to the reduced volume of their stomach, they often starve to death.
Ms de Jersey said the team’s findings suggest that these plastic loads may be triggering inflammation and permanent damage to internal organs.
“The stomach is a nutrient-absorbing organ, but when it’s filled with sharp plastic pieces, you get abrasion, swelling and scarring,” she said.
“We’ve started calling it ‘plasticosis’.”
Back on the mainland, the issue is just as widespread.
According to the CSIRO, around 130,000 tonnes of plastic enter Australian waterways each year.
The National Plastics Plan summary says that just 13 per cent of this plastic waste is recycled, with 84 per cent sent to landfill or lost to the environment.
SOURCE: Australian Plastic Flows and Fates Study 2020-21 – National Report
Despite bans on lightweight plastic bags and straws in most states, environmental groups and Senate reports claims the change is too slow.
A 2024 Senate Inquiry into plastic pollution by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water has called for enforceable packaging laws, mandatory design standards and national refill schemes.
Chair of the Committee, Tony Zappia MP has warned in a media release that plastic waste would continue to rise without urgent intervention.
“Australia needs to act now to protect its natural environment for future generations,” Mr Zappia said.
“Without urgent action, plastic waste will increase and continue to negatively impact our oceans and waterways.”
SOURCE: The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
Acting Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute, Dr Julie Ellmers said plastics now affect multiple species and ecosystems.
“Ingestion of plastics by marine species is a significant issue,” Dr Ellmers said.
“It’s compounded as you move up the food chain. For example, when fish that have eaten microplastics are consumed by larger predators.”
The Australian Museum is using its collections to track historical exposure.
“We have specimens going back 200 years. By scanning them non-destructively, we could potentially identify when microplastic ingestion began in certain species and how it’s escalated over time,” she said.
Dr Ellmer’s recent trip to Norfolk Island has highlighted similar concerns.
“It’s a useful site for detecting change brought by warming seas and pollution,” she said.
“Plastic is just one part of the stress these systems are under.”
Beach clean-up data supports the wider trend.
According to the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, plastic fragments make up over 70 per cent of marine debris collected across Australian coastlines.
SOURCE: Tangaroa Blue Foundation
Ms de Jersey said public awareness has grown, but government policy delays change.
“The burden has fallen too much on individuals and not enough on producers,” she said.
“We need legislation that forces companies to reduce virgin plastic, use recycled content and invest in reuse systems.”
She said stronger national and international regulations are urgently needed to hold companies to account for the full life cycle of plastic products.
Until that happens, seabird research will continue to document the damage.
“What enters the ocean off one country’s coast can wash up on another’s,” Ms de Jersey said.
The impact of plastic pollution stretches beyond wildlife. Microplastics have now been detected in drinking water, seafood and even human placentas.
While scientists are still studying the long-term health impacts, early findings raise concern about chemical exposure and endocrine disruption.
Efforts are underway globally to address the issue. In 2022, the United Nations began negotiating a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. Discussions are ongoing, but many countries, including Australia, have backed a treaty that targets the full life cycle of plastics, not just waste.
Dr Ellmers said public education and outreach remain crucial.
“One of our secret weapons is museums themselves,” she said.
“We reach over a million people a year through our galleries. When those stories tour regionally and internationally, they start shaping conversations everywhere.”
Ms de Jersey agreed that data and communication go hand in hand.
“When we can show clear trends – like a chick with 778 pieces of plastic inside – it shifts the conversation from abstract to urgent,” she said.
“It’s about visibility and accountability.”
Until such agreements come into force, researchers like Ms de Jersey and her colleagues will keep gathering data, monitoring trends and sounding the alarm.
“It’s a visible consequence of plastic pollution and it’s happening now,” she said.
