Ocean SOS: The Fishy Story Behind Ocean Plastic Pollution

"Ocean SOS" on a bubbly blue underwater background

Ocean plastic pollution isn’t just an eyesore at our beaches. It’s an urgent environmental issue that demands our attention. Research estimates that 11 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the ocean every year! Plastic overproduction threatens marine life, pollutes coastlines, and harms the health of our communities.

To help shed light on the systemic forces behind this crisis, this comic features Sally the Harbor Seal. Sally is a rookie first responder at Ocean Hotline. On her first day, she helps a sea turtle and her son, whose head is trapped in a plastic bottle. Sally uses the Big Plastic Playbook to uncover the deeper causes behind increasing plastic-related emergencies across the ocean.

This fictional guidebook outlines real-life tactics used by plastic producers to avoid taking accountability for the waste they produce. Want to learn more about these tactics and how Big Beverage companies benefit? Check our CLF’s Big Beverage Playbook for avoiding responsibility.

"Ocean SOS," on a bubbly underwater background

A sign reading "Ocean Hotline" sits over the opening to an underwater cave. A text bubble reads, "In the waters off of coastal New England, Sally the Harbor Seal started her first job at the Ocean Hotline ..."

Two seals chat amid kelp. One says, "Welcome to the Ocean Hotline! We help sea creatures with all their emergencies, just answer the shell-phone and listen carefully!" Sally the Seal responds, "Thanks Finn! I'm ready to help out all of our ocean friends - Oh! looks like my first call is here." Her "shell-phone," made of an opened scallop, is ringing.

Sally the seal answers the phone, saying, "Ocean Hotline, this is Sally speaking! How can I help you today?" A turtle says, "Hello!? Please help, my son's head is stuck in a plastic bottle! I can't get it off!" A baby turtle, with his head stuck in a soda bottle, says, "There's so much plastic everywhere now! What's going on??"

Sally the seal says, "Don't worry, I know just how to help with this! Hold on while I grab our Big Plastic Playbook. It's got a whole section on bottle issues." She pulls a book labeled "Big Plastic Playbook" off a shelf. There's discarded plastic on the cover.

Sally the seal opens the book and says, "This playbook explains the ways big plastic producers are sabotaging recycling and waste reduction - making all this plastic turn up in your neck of the kelp forest."

Sally the seal says, "Last week, my cousin Shelly swallowed a 'plant-based' bottle, thinking it was a fancy new snack - but it was just more ocean pollution!" The plastic playbook is opened to a page that says "Rule #1" over a picture of a plastic factory polluting a river and a gift-wrapped present. The opposing page says: "The Greenwash Glimmer -Plastic Producers launch fake "green" programs like 'plant-based' bottles' while still polluting -This is just a marketing trick to avoid responsibility for the waste they create -It leaves us with more pollution and fools humans into forgetting the issue of plastic pollution"

Sally the seal says, "Mayor Flippy said a new human law to stop ocean plastic pollution got twisted, and the companies making the plastic ended up writing the rules! It's like letting sharks guard the fish!" The Plastic Playbook is open to a page that says "Rule #2" over a picture of legislation that says, "Politician & Big Plastic Plastic Reform Bill. Loophole, loophole, loophole." The opposing page says: "The Tide Turnaround -Big plastic companies spend tons to influence politicians into stopping or changing laws for their benefit. -They even create fake "grassroots" groups to mislead other humans into thinking they want progress on reducing plastic waste. -This trick keeps them producing plastic and confuses the humans who actually want to help!"

The turtle mom says, "Oh, I know this one! My seagull friend has had a plastic ring caught around his neck for months and just heard a human blaming /himself/ for it!" Sally the seal says, "Exactly! These companies probably had more to do with that happening to your friend than the person who saw them at the beach!" The plastic playbook is open to a page that says "Rule #3" over a picture of a confused person standing outside a recycling center, looking at a sign that says "Recycle right!" The opposing page says: "Pointing the Flipper -Plastic producers often blame litter and recycling issues on humans being irresponsible, rather than actually changing the larger scale systems they create. -This lets companies avoid responsibility for what they produce and makes their consumers and other humans feel guilty about a problem they didn't create!"

Sally the seal says, "This whole 'playbook' is really just about big companies saving a few pennies, even if it means filling our beautiful home with their plastic trash." The plastic playbook is open to a page that reads, "Rule #4" over a picture of a plastic factory polluting a river. The opposing page says: "The Sand-Dollar Search -The most important rule plastic producers companies follow is putting profits first! -It's easier and cheaper to keep producing plastic using the tactics in this playbook than to support and improve recycling for the planet and for the humans that buy from them."

Sally the seal says, "These tactics are why your son is stuck in that bottle now! It's not about making things better for us or even for other humans. It's all about keeping plastic production flowing and avoiding accountability." Over the phone, the turtle says, "Wow! I had no idea!"

Sally the seal says, "Ocean Hotline, this is Sally speaking! How can I help you today?" A turtle speaking into another "shell-phone" says, "Hello!? Please help, my son's head is stuck in a plastic bottle! I can't get it off!" Her son, a baby turtle with his head wedged into an empty soda bottle, says, "There's so much plastic everywhere now! What's going on??"

Over the phone, the turtle says, "Hello?! Are you coming?" Sally the seal says, "So sorry, ma'am! We're heading over to help now!"

Sally the Seal holds the bottle that was stuck on the little turtle's head. The mother and freed baby turtle swim happily away. Text overlay: "The End. We can't let plastic polluters continue to hurt sea life. Join CLF in fighting for a plastic-free ocean today."

Sally’s journey may be fictional, but the crisis she responds to is all too real. From microplastic snacks to entangled marine life, the consequences of unchecked plastic production are everywhere. Using Sally’s story and the Big Beverage Playbook, CLF aims to keep exposing how Big Plastic misleads consumers and delays the meaningful changes needed to clean our coastlines. We can choose not to let Big Plastic off the hook.

CLF is already pushing policies like bottle bills across New England to hold polluters accountable. These laws significantly increase the number of empty containers that end up being recycled, instead of getting stuck to baby sea turtles. By understanding what problems really fuel ocean plastic pollution, advocates, educators, and policymakers can create a cleaner, healthier future for marine life and humans. Join us in fighting for a safer ocean!