Time to Roam Magazine Issue 12 - December/January 2015 | Page 48

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on the roam my top 5
plastic being found per square kilometre.
“The majority of the plastic I find is very
tiny, smaller than 5mm long. Mostly these
fragments come from throw away packaging
that has been lost to the environment, but
I’ve also found a lot of fragments from fishing
gear, such as fishing lines and nets.”
Despite their small size, Julia maintains that
the broader impacts of these pollutants are
significant, with plastics posing a substantial
risk to marine life and even human health.
“When the plastic gets into the ocean its
surface properties lead to it acting like a
sponge for oily pollutants such as fertilisers
that are floating in the water too. So when
an organism eats the plastic fragments
they consume these pollutants as well.”
“The result is a process that we call
biomagnification. A little fish eats the polluted
plastic and then a bigger fish eats lots of
contaminated little fish. This leads to higher
concentrations of pollutants in the big fish.”
“By eating seafood, these pollutants can even
end up on our plates. It’s a horrifying fact.“
While the results are quite alarming, Julia
maintains that bringing attention to such an
important issue is a very rewarding experience.
“My research is quite significant, as it’s
important to realise just how connected we
are to the oceans. It works both ways – we
might hurt the ocean by throwing plastics
into it, but that comes back at us too.”
Julia says we can all play a part in reducing
plastic pollution levels by being more mindful of
the amount of plastic we use in our daily lives.
“We can all try to reduce our plastic
footprint. It’s important to realise that a
plastic cup or plastic packaging that we
might only use for a few minutes can
last in the environment forever.”

MY TOP FIVE

Julia Reisser

1

2

Ningaloo Reef, WA
“I particularly like the North West shelf of Ningaloo Reef. There’s a place there for camping
and if you go around January/February then you can find lots of baby turtles hatching on the
beach early in the morning. There’s also great snorkeling, so it’s one of my favourite spots.”

Bruny Island, TAS
“The nature there is unbelievable. I highly recommend the boat
tours, as they take you around the island and show you stunning
rocks and forests. Camping there is also really nice.”

Rottnest Island, WA
“I very highly recommend Rottnest Island.
You can get there by boat from Perth, and
there are no cars, so people just travel around
by bicycle. There are amazing beaches and
snorkeling is great too. You can even
see seals from some of the beaches!”

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timetoroam.com.au

4

3

Eco Beach, WA
“I worked in the sea moratorium program there. Close
to Broome, it’s a very relaxing and peaceful place they even run yoga classes in the morning!”