Skip to main content
Back to Show
Changing Seas

Whales in a Plastic Ocean | Changing Seas | Preview

Far out in the eastern Atlantic, the Portuguese island of Madeira rises from the depths of the open ocean. Despite its remote location, the archipelago is impacted by floating plastic trash. Researchers with MARE-Madeira study the effects plastics, and their chemical compounds, have on the health of marine mammals that frequent local waters.

Support Provided By
Season
Seagrasses and Mangroves
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:48
Examine the important role seagrasses and mangroves play in the ocean’s web of life.
Sentinels of the Seas
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:51
Take a look at the health of the bottlenose dolphin.
No Fish Left Uncounted
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:51
The Changing Seas crew shadows a team of research divers in Dry Tortugas National Park.
Farming the Sea
26:45
Scientists develop sustainable aquaculture methods to take the pressure off wild fish.
Corals of the Deep
26:46
Scientists scan the ocean floor to find deep sea corals threatened by bottom trawling.
Mission to Inner Space
26:49
Scientists at the world’s only underwater lab study the impacts of ocean acidification.
Super Grouper
26:54
After being fished to near extinction, Goliath Groupers are making a comeback in Florida.
Active loading indicator