Many of the creatures are coastal species that dwell thousands of miles from their natural habitats on a small land halfway between the beaches of California and Hawaii. Plants and critters such as anemones, tiny marine bugs, mollusks, and crabs were found on 90% of the trash. Scientists are concerned that plastic may aid in the movement of invading species.

Plastic fragments with a diameter of more than 5cm (2in) were gathered from a gyre in the Pacific. The project’s lead researcher at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre, Dr. Linsey Haram, said: “Plastics are more permanent than many of the natural debris that you previously have seen in the open ocean. They’re creating a more permanent habitat in this area.” There are at least five circular patterns of ocean currents on the earth that are contaminated by plastic. With a projected 79,000 tonnes of floating plastic in a 610,000-square-mile region, this one is expected to contain the most (1.6m sq km). “All sorts of stuff ends up out there,” said Dr. Haram. “It’s not an island of plastic, but there’s definitely a large amount of plastic corralled there.”

Microplastic, which is difficult to see with the naked eye, makes up a major amount of this. Larger items, such as abandoned fishing nets, buoys, and even ships, have been floating in the gyre since the 2011 Japanese tsunami.