The Motivation Behind Charlie the Seahorse

I wrote a story a couple of days ago:

This is a short, fictional tale about a little seahorse. He learns to adapt to the constant changes in his home caused by ocean pollution.

An image I came across while looking for something else in my image files inspired the story.

Underwater photographer Justin Hofman took the photo. It appeared in a National Geographic article about ocean pollution. As a former underwater photographer, I find it magical to be 30 meters down. It feels like being in a world where you don't quite belong.

The image is beautiful, but the situation behind it is troubling and sad. Hearing the photographer's words inspired me to write Charlie's story.

Seahorses ride the ocean currents by grasping floating objects with their tails. What started as fun, watching tiny fish grab seagrass, turned to anger. Soon, plastic and other trash filled the scene.

“It’s a photo that I wish didn’t exist, but now that it does, I want everyone to see it,” he wrote on Instagram.

As writers, we all look for inspiration for that next great story. All we need is a trigger and an imagination, or an inquiring mind. My friend Susan Fourtané on Vocal called writers "patient predators" in her story, “The Woman Who Controls the Weather.”

I think she is spot on. The reality behind the story about Charlie is where the real message is. It goes something like this:

• Plastic, nutrients from fertiliser runoff, nonpoint sources, light, noise, and industrial chemicals are the top six ocean pollutants. Four of these, the biggest, are due to human activity.
• Eighty percent of pollution to the marine environment comes from the land. One of the biggest sources is nonpoint source pollution, which results from runoff.
• Humans produce over 400 million metric tons of plastic annually. That's about the weight of all people on Earth.
• Around 22% of plastic waste globally is either not collected, disposed of incorrectly, or turns into litter.
• Researchers estimate that about 500 million kilograms of plastic waste enter the oceans each year.
• About 80% of floating plastic will wash up on a coastline within a month of leaking into the ocean.
• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is in the North Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and California. It’s estimated to be twice the size of Texas, which is three times the size of France or Thailand.
• It is a plastic soup. About 100 million kilograms of plastic float in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It holds 1.8 trillion pieces that are larger than 0.5 mm. That is about 160 pieces per person living on the planet.
• Besides pollution, experts warn that if overfishing continues, all fisheries could collapse by 2048.

In Charlie’s world, six of the top ten plastic-polluting countries are in Southeast Asia. These include the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar. Together, these nations contribute nearly 30% of the world's total marine plastic pollution.

Charlie and his aquatic mates have no chance; the time to act is now.

That is why I wrote this story, to bring attention to these horrifying facts.

For decades, our ocean has been a dumping ground for plastic, sewage, and industrial waste. While the ocean is vast, it’s not bottomless, and it’s certainly not a landfill site.

Everyone—individuals, businesses, and governments—needs to understand plastic pollution issues. If we don't recognize the importance of a healthy ocean, no one will act to change our habits.

Sometimes it is the role of writers to spread the word.

Till next time,

Calvin