This the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It has often been referred to as the largest landfill in the world, a floating island, and a trash vortex. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation says the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is most accurately represented as a “plastic soup” where the plastic is distributed throughout the water column.

Did you know that plastic constitutes 90 percent of all trash floating in the world's ocean? Yikes. 

Here is the effect is has on marine life from the AMRF: 

Large pieces of plastic can kill by entrapment, suffocation and drowning. Smaller pieces can be ingested, causing choking or intestinal blockage. In some cases, starvation occurs because the plastic makes the animal feel full without having had any nourishment. Plastic consumed by marine life appears to either pass through the digestive tract intact, if it is small enough, or remains in the animal, blocking the intestinal tract, causing death. When the animal dies, the plastic is either released to be eaten again, or it is swallowed by a predator eating the plastic-ridden prey. In the case of seabirds, many of them simply perish on shore with their stomach contents eventually being the only thing to remain. Accumulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) on plastic, and the resulting effects on marine life when this plastic is ingested is a topic of much discussion in the scientific community. The term POP (persistent organic pollutant) is a description of organic materials which do not completely dissolve in water and do not degrade into harmless materials in a relatively short amount of time. Examples include PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other materials that resist degradation. Many POPs are proven carcinogens. Other POPs contribute to other problems with marine life, such as reproductive issues due to hormone disruption. Recent conferences (2008) attended by various groups indicate the need for much more research to be done in this area.

Read more from the foundation HERE.

---

---