A fisherman working off the coast of Costa Rica was gobsmacked to see extreme plastic pollution when he cut open a fish's stomach on board his boat after suspecting it was unwell. Take a look at what he found below.
WARNING: CONTAINS IMAGES WHICH SOME MAY FIND DISTRESSING
Curious to see what was causing the animal's illness, he cut its stomach open and was shocked to find a number of plastic objects, including bottle tops, a comb and a cigarette lighter.
The fisherman removed the foreign bodies one by one from the gut of the dolphinfish, illustrating just how damaging plastic pollution's impact is on marine wildlife.
The upsetting footage has sparked outrage among animal rights groups on the island, where fishing is one of the main industries.
Marine scientist Erick Ross, the Mirror reports, explained that fish often confuse the plastic pieces for food before ingesting them.
"The plastic does not melt and can block their intestinal tract, and then they cannot feed - preventing them from consuming food, and starving [them to death]," he said.
The issue of plastic pollution is nothing new, but as the problem reaches breaking point, world leaders are being forced to look at what can be done to tackle it.
Speaking in Paris after attending a major climate change summit of world leaders in December, Theresa May said that greater amounts of overseas aid money could be used to save marine life.
"We've all been very concerned by the pictures we've seen in recent months of the impact of pollution on marine life, the impact of plastic pollution," she said.
"Of course the UK Government has already taken steps in relation to plastic - a charge on carrier bags, a ban on microbeads. But we are looking at what more we can do. That's not just the Environment Secretary but the International Development Secretary.
"To see how we can use overseas aid money to ensure we're doing what I think everybody wants, which is reducing this terrible pollution that is taking place and affecting marine life so devastatingly."
Meanwhile, LADbible's very own Trash Isles campaign has welcomed a host of new celebrity ambassadors to raise awareness and join the fight against plastic pollution in our oceans.
Chris Hemsworth, Al Gore, Gal Gadot, Mark Ruffalo, Brandon Flowers, Sir Mo Farah, Jeff Goldblum, Lethal Bizzle, Ezra Miller, Andy Serkis, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler and Dame Judi Dench have now joined the 200,000 other Trash Isles citizens committed to solving the crisis taking place in our oceans.
Join the fight by signing the petition here.
LADbible has claimed the world's first country made entirely of trash to highlight the issue of plastic pollution in our oceans.
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Get involved and ensure the world's first country made of trash is its last.
Become a citizen of the Trash Isles here.
Donate to our charity partner, Plastic Oceans Foundation here.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: World News, Fish, plastic pollution, trash isles