Some of the most poignant moments of Blue Planet 2 so far have been those that lay bare the amount of debris wreaking havoc in our oceans. The country wept when the show highlighted the devastating impact of plastic pollution, and the crew said there was rarely a time during filming when they wouldn't see plastic in the sea.
Now, ocean debris is back under the spotlight after a lobster was found with a Pepsi logo "tattooed" on its claw. A fishing crew spotted the creature in the waters off Grand Manan in New Brunswick, eastern Canada, after it had been loaded onto a crate to have its claws banded.
New Brunswick fisherman finds lobster with Pepsi can imprinted on claw. Audio@7:43pm https://t.co/ChzIST7CFf pic.twitter.com/8Vofft9fml
— As It Happens (@cbcasithappens) November 29, 2017
Karissa Lindstrand, a Pepsi aficionado who drinks 12 cans a day, was on the crew and quickly noticed the red and blue logo imprinted on the lobster's claw. "It looked like the image was tattooed on the lobster claw," Lindstrand told The Globe and Mail. "I've just seen deformed claws. I've never seen anything like this before with the image of a Pepsi symbol," she continued.
It remains unclear how the logo got there, with the question becoming the subject of global debate since the story came to light. Some believe the lobster grew around a can that was at the bottom of the ocean, while others claim the logo came from a Pepsi box that somehow became affixed to its claw.
But Lindstrand doesn't buy either argument, saying that the logo couldn't have come from a can because it was pixellated and that logos on Pepsi boxes are larger than what she saw on the claw. While the image looked like a printed photo, she admitted this was unlikely because paper would have disintegrated in the ocean. It remains a mystery.
Lindstrand said she wishes she'd kept the lobster given the worldwide attention her photo has received. Instead, she put it in a crate en route to a buyer and she believes it may now be in the US.
Matthew Abbott, from the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said the lobster has an important story to tell about the state of our oceans, telling The Globe and Mail: "What it really tells us is the prevalence of marine debris in our coastal waters.
"This is a case where the lobster not necessarily has been hurt by it, but it shows that even in the relatively deep waters off Grand Manan there's garbage down there."
While a lot of the plastics people worry about float, they tend to sink and remain undiscovered if they're filled with water or other materials. Between five and 13 million tonnes of plastic makes its way into our oceans each year, which is then ingested by wildlife, according to figures obtained by the Guardian. At the very least, people are now taking notice.
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