Kiera Jefferson
Marine pollution is a pressing issue that poses a significant threat to the health of our planet and its organisms. Oceans, covering over 70% of the Earth, are home to most of the life on the planet, from algae to blue whales. However, human activities have led to the contamination of marine ecosystems with chemicals, trash, oil, carbon emissions, and noise. This pollution has detrimental effects on marine life, from entanglement and injury to ingestion and toxic contamination. It also impacts the health of humans, as pollutants make their way back up the food chain. With marine pollution increasing and having long-term disastrous effects, it is crucial to address this issue through prevention, cleanup, and a shift in society's approach to plastic use.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Marine pollution sources | Chemicals, trash, oil spills, plastic, fertilizer, septic tanks, vehicles, farms, factories, sewage, stormwater, carbon emissions, noise |
| Impact on marine life | Entanglement, ingestion, injury, starvation, suffocation, behavioural changes, cancer, infertility, death |
| Impact on humans | Seafood contamination, long-term health conditions, cancer, birth defects |
| Solutions | Prevention, cleanup, reduction in disposable plastic products, improved waste management, organic fertilizers, reusable items |
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What You'll Learn
Oil spills
Additionally, birds and animals may ingest oil when attempting to clean themselves, leading to poisoning. Oil can mix into the water column and affect fish, shellfish, and corals. Shellfish are particularly vulnerable in the intertidal zone. Seabirds are often the most affected by oil spills, with greater numbers harmed and killed compared to other creatures. This is because seabirds and sea otters are found on the sea surface or shorelines, where oil accumulates.
The toxicity of oil varies depending on its type, with medium oils falling between light and heavy oils and lasting for different durations in the environment. Oil spills can have both immediate and long-term effects on marine life, and it is challenging to determine the precise consequences due to the presence of other contaminants and the dynamic nature of marine ecosystems.
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Plastic ingestion
Plastic debris in the ocean is often eaten by marine animals that mistake it for food. A review by Kühn and van Franeker found that over 700 species, including seabirds, fish, turtles, and marine mammals, have been confirmed to eat plastic. This number will likely increase over time as wildlife continues to encounter plastic debris. Debris items may be mistaken for food and ingested, or may be accidentally ingested when mixed with or attached to an animal's natural food.
The ingestion of plastic can lead to several issues, including loss of nutrition, internal injury, intestinal blockage, starvation, and even death. The amount and type of plastic ingested often directly relate to the animal's feeding behavior. Passive feeders, or animals that filter their food from water or soil, may unintentionally eat microplastics with their food. Animals that are active feeders, which search for and capture their food, ingest plastic not only accidentally while feeding but also any debris inside of their prey.
Some animals are able to release debris without passing it fully into the digestive system, such as birds that can regurgitate or throw up indigested plastic. However, for other animals, plastic ingestion can lead to slow and painful starvation. Sea turtles, for example, can have their digestive tracts clogged by plastic, or they can ingest too much plastic that floats, causing them to become positively buoyant and unable to dive for food. This condition can make them more susceptible to predation or boat strikes, leading to fatal outcomes.
Research has shown that the rate of plastic ingestion by marine life is increasing. A study by Stanford ecologists revealed that over two-thirds of the fish species studied had consumed plastic, with the rate of consumption doubling over the last decade. This issue is particularly prominent in heavily polluted East Asian waters, where seafood is a critical source of food for 2 billion people.
While some countries have taken steps to limit or ban disposable plastic items, plastic pollution in the ocean remains a growing problem, with billions of pounds of plastic waste entering the ocean each year.
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Entanglement
Marine animals, such as whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, and sea turtles, frequently become entangled in fishing gear and other marine debris as they swim or while resting on beaches. Entanglement in plastic waste is a significant cause of human-induced mortality in many whale species, especially right whales, humpback whales, and gray whales. Large whales can typically free themselves from gear, but they may still face exhaustion and infection. Smaller marine animals, like small whales, turtles, and dolphins, may drown immediately if the gear is large or heavy.
Fishing ropes, nets, and pots that have been discarded or abandoned are often made from plastic and can trap a wide range of marine life, from large whales to small crabs. An estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises die annually from entanglement in ghost gear. Sea turtles are also vulnerable to entanglement from six-pack rings, which can get caught around their shells and necks.
The impact of entanglement can be devastating, leading to suffocation, strangulation, starvation, injury, and increased vulnerability to predators. Entangled animals may also be unable to avoid vessels, increasing the risk of vessel strikes. The gear can cut into their flesh, causing physical trauma and infections.
Efforts to prevent entanglement and rescue entangled animals are critical to mitigating these risks. Rescuers employ specialised tools and techniques, such as "kegging," to safely free whales and other large animals from entanglement.
The pervasive presence of plastic pollution in the oceans, including microplastics, poses a significant threat to marine life. Plastic pollution can entangle and harm a wide range of marine species, from tiny zooplankton to giant whales. The long-lasting nature of plastic means that these detrimental effects can persist for generations, endangering the survival of countless marine species.
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Hypoxia
Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from human activities along coastlines and far inland. It results in damage to the environment, the health of all organisms, and economic structures worldwide.
One of the consequences of marine pollution is hypoxia, which refers to low or depleted oxygen levels in a water body. Hypoxia occurs when there is an overgrowth of certain species of algae, which, upon dying, sinking, and decomposing, consume oxygen in the water. This depletion of oxygen results in the creation of "dead zones", where normal populations of fish, shellfish, corals, and other aquatic life cannot be sustained. These dead zones can cause die-offs of marine life or force mobile species such as fish to migrate to other areas.
The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (reauthorized in 2004, 2014, and 2019) has reaffirmed and expanded NOAA's mandate to advance the scientific understanding of hypoxia and support detection, monitoring, prediction, and mitigation efforts.
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Chemical contamination
Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from human activities on land. Chemical contamination, or nutrient pollution, is a pressing concern for health, environmental, and economic reasons. This type of pollution occurs when human activities, such as the use of fertilizer on farms, lead to the runoff of chemicals into waterways that eventually flow into the ocean.
The increased concentration of chemicals, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, in coastal areas, promotes the growth of algal blooms. While algal blooms can occur naturally, excess nutrients entering a body of water through human activities can also cause them. As algae sink and decompose, they consume oxygen, leading to oxygen depletion and the creation of ""dead zones" where marine life struggles to survive. This process has severe consequences for the health of marine ecosystems and the coastal economies that depend on them.
Moreover, chemical contamination can have toxic effects on marine wildlife. Floating plastics in the ocean have been found to accumulate pollutants and transport them through ocean currents. Marine life that ingests plastics coated with pollutants can absorb these toxins into their bodies. A recent study revealed that a single plastic particle can absorb up to one million times more toxic chemicals than the surrounding water. This contamination can lead to bioaccumulation as it moves up the food chain, resulting in higher toxin concentrations in apex predators such as orcas and great white sharks.
The sources of chemical contamination in the ocean are diverse. In addition to agricultural runoff, chemical discharges from factories, raw sewage overflow from water treatment systems, and stormwater runoff contribute to the problem. Oil spills, a form of point source pollution, can also have devastating effects on marine life, ensnaring and suffocating animals while causing long-term health issues and behavioural changes.
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Frequently asked questions
Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from human activities on land. This includes oil spills, chemical spills, and plastic waste.
Pollution can affect marine life in various ways, including entanglement, injury, ingestion, and toxic contamination. Marine animals can also suffer from cancer, behavioural changes, and reduced reproductive abilities. Large plastic items can entangle marine mammals and fish, leading to starvation, injury, and vulnerability to predators. Small plastic fragments can be mistaken for food by seabirds and other marine species, causing suffocation, starvation, and toxic contamination.
The sources of marine pollution can be diverse, but primarily include runoff from land-based sources such as septic tanks, vehicles, farms, and factories. Oil spills from boats, airplanes, and other vehicles also contribute to marine pollution. Additionally, chemical discharges from factories, sewage overflow, and agricultural runoff add to the toxic pollutants in the ocean.
