Rhys Jenson is a Master of Science Student at University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries who first became curious about plastic pollution during a simple trip to the grocery store. Surrounded by aisles of plastic-wrapped food, he couldn’t help but wonder about the billions of people consuming similarly packaged items every day and the impact this could have on human and environmental health.
As a whale-watching tour guide, he was further inspired to investigate the effects that plastic and microplastics, pieces of plastic 5 millimeters or smaller in size might have on the majestic humpback whales off the coast of Vancouver Island. Despite whales often being the face of anti-plastic campaigns, he found a lack of scientific research on their exposure levels, largely because the tools to capture data below the ocean’s surface were either not available at all, too large for a small boat or too expensive.
To collect the scientific data needed to answer the question of humpback exposure, Rhys turned to Ocean Diagnostics’ cutting-edge depth sampler called Ascension.
“Ascension is small, so it was easy to launch. It's just super easy to use, and I found the software intuitive,” Rhys claims.
Rhys deployed the 22-pound portable microplastics depth sampling instrument from a 27-foot zodiac with limited space to collect around 30 samples from 25 to 100 meter depths where humpback whales feed.
“These whales feed in really deep water. Using existing tools like Manta Trawls to collect surface concentration of plastic is kind of useless. We needed a way to collect (microplastic) samples below the surface, and there aren’t many options when it comes to getting subsurface (data),” describes Rhys.
Learning how marine mammals are affected by plastic and microplastic pollution is still a bit of a frontier, but new technology like Ascension can help researchers like Rhys to uncover new information.
“In terms of having a flow-through system at depth controlled by a laptop, I couldn’t find any alternative” Rhys recalls.
With the data collected from Ascension, combined with whale fecal matter samples gathered at the surface, Rhys will model the amount of plastics consumed by the whales in each feeding lunge. This model will be used to determine daily microplastic exposure levels which can help us to understand how serious the problem might be.
“The way these whales feed is by taking huge gulps of water and incidentally could be engulfing things they don’t want to be,” Rhys explains. He continues, “If there’s plastic (in the water) when they’re feeding, they might also be swallowing that kind of debris.”
With baseline data like this, researchers will be able to explore the specific types of plastic polymers the whales are consuming and evaluate the potential health consequences. Long-term, this information can help determine whether the problem of plastic pollution in these waters is improving or worsening.
“The name of the game is data,” states Rhys. He continues, “Technology helps to get it. In the case of subsampling at 100- meter depths you need technology to do that. It’s very important.”
As the study progresses, Rhys hopes the data will raise awareness about the scale of plastic pollution and inspire others to rethink their single-use plastic habits and help tackle the global threat of plastic pollution.