A floating billboard off the coast of the most populous country in the world spurred a Redditor to share the ironic advertisement in r/Anticonsumption.
The three photos they posted offered a perfect example of the unnecessary and harmful practice. The first showed the video board displaying a waterfall, the second a PETA India bulletin to "GO VEGAN" to help save turtles, and the third a sunset — and the vessel carrying the ads looked like it was painted to resemble the sky and clouds.
These floating billboards are well documented, as they ruin the view and experience of beachgoers and usually promote consumption. This one scored points for novelty, but not in a good way.
It's no doubt a worthwhile cause to promote veganism to decrease the demand for animal meat such as fish — and thus associated hazards such as abandoned fishing gear. But doing so via an advert aboard an at least somewhat-polluting ship rather than a less wasteful option is certainly … a choice, let's call it.
PETA India says 250,000 turtles die every year after becoming entangled in fishing nets and other equipment, and seabirds, dolphins, whales, sharks, and other creatures are acutely affected, too. The organization states fishing gear can remain in the environment for 600 years before it breaks down, calling the industry "the biggest threat to marine wildlife."
Plastic and other waste in our oceans is also a threat because it can be eaten by these animals and shed microplastics. Turtles are particularly susceptible to being killed by this pollution because of the way their bodies are structured, which prevents regurgitation, according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
We can help by not buying plastic water bottles at the grocery store and saying "no" to plastic bags at checkout. You can even bring reusable food containers when you go out to eat. All of these steps and more help carve a path to a sustainable future.
"This is worse than what I saw growing up when I went to the beach," one commenter wrote of the ad display. "... I would see small planes with huge banners. I always thought it was annoying."
Another responded: "Exactly! It was annoying, but at least, they were typically advertising local restaurants or attractions. At least from what I remember. I went to ocean city MD for the first time this summer and saw one of these advertising some family law guy. Like? Whyyy?"
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