Voices is the Dorset Echo's weekly youth page - written for young people by young people.

This week Darcy Barrett discusses the future of our marine wildlife.

Living in a harbour town, sealife is an important part of our everyday culture.

Yet despite most coastal dwellers love of the ocean, questions are raised about the significant decrease in the number of our favourite sea creatures.

We may be part of two separate worlds that only have the merest of connections but the impact we have on each other is profound.

With corals and ocean floors dying, the question we have to ask ourselves is, are we the ones that are going to cause the end of not only the oceans but the rest of the world?

The sad but truthful answer is yes. Human kind are harming the Earth.

In 2010, four million to 12 million metric tonnes of plastic washed up on the shores from the ocean and this is only around 1.5 per cent of the world’s plastic production.

When plastic ends up in the sea, animals like turtles, sea birds, fish, seals and the ever-loved dolphins and whales ingest it causing them to choke to death.

Animals also get trapped in fishing nets, causing them to get tangled to a point where they are unable to escape.

If, as a population, we are not careful then these animals are going to die out, and soon.

Land animals are a huge part of our lives, they are comforting, caring and we love them back. Sea creatures are no different, no animals are.

To have a rare sight of a humpback whale, a species that is dying out, so close to home in Dorset is a privilege that may never happen again.

Look after the ocean and dispose of your rubbish responsibly.

By Darcy Barrett