On his trip across the Pacific, de Rothschild was also shocked by the lack of marine life. He compared his experience with that of Thor Heyerdahl who sailed across in 1947. Heyerdahl saw all kinds of fish, dolphins, whales, and sea birds every day. There were so many flying fish, for example, that he sometimes had to throw them off the boat. De Rothschild, on the other hand, saw very few fish or other marine animals. This confirms what scientists are now saying that 80 percent of the fish in the world's oceans have disappeared. Plastic is not the only cause of this disappearance, but it is one of them.