It’s early morning off the Jersey Shore in the vast Atlantic Ocean. A Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle, the world’s most endangered sea turtle, is searching for her next meal when she catches a glimpse of something to eat, swims closer and opens her mouth. She chomps away, struggles a little, eats it, and it gets stuck and clogs her digestive system. She will never know, but she just ate a colorful, shiny “Congratulations” balloon with strings attached, which may just end her life.
Sadly, this case of mistaken identity is all too common in the world’s oceans. Sea turtles eat jellyfish, which balloons resemble (especially with string) as they freely float atop the ocean’s surface after falling from the sky.
Balloons are often the “go-to” decorations for celebrations, from graduations and gender reveals to birthday parties, memorials for loved ones, or sporting events. For some, there is just “something” about balloons as they dance or float, whether tethered or released in the air. Many of us may have a childhood memory of joyfully holding a balloon and grasping its string so it doesn’t fly away…until it does.
Balloons and the strings are festive and fun, but released outdoors on purpose or unintentionally, they can be lethal to birds, turtles, whales, and many other animals. Balloons litter our ocean and are one of the most lethal forms of marine debris. In fact, 70,055 balloons were removed from NJ beaches by volunteers on just 40 days during the 20-year period (1999-2019) of Clean Ocean Action’s biannual Beach Sweeps. Further, a recent study in the journal Marine Policy ranks balloons as No. 3 of the 20 deadliest forms of trash in the ocean.
The risks to marine life far outweigh the joy of seeing a few balloons floating in the air before they fall to the Earth as litter.
Fortunately, New Jersey is taking action. On June 25, NJ Assemblyman Houghtaling (D-Neptune) and Assemblywoman Downey (D-Freehold) introduced legislation (A4322) to prohibit the outdoor release or unattended use of balloons. The legislation would also apply to other floating devices such as sky lanterns or aerial luminary lanterns.
COA is not anti-balloon, just anti-balloon litter, and wants to protect marine life from this harmful threat. Every day more life-threatening balloons enter the ocean. Let’s work fast to pop this bill onto Governor Murphy’s desk for signing. To sign a petition supporting the bill, go to CleanOceanAction.org; countless marine animals, including the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle, will thank you.
Kari Martin
Advocacy Campaign Manager, Clean Ocean Action
Clean Ocean Action (COA), a nonprofit organization, has been educating people on ocean pollution issues and solutions since 1984, especially on reducing marine litter.
The article originally appeared in the July 2 – 8, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
