Marine pollution

Marine pollution is the deadliest type of water pollution.

Marine pollution is the curse to water bodies it causes destruction of seas, and who is the doer of marine pollution? The smartest living being on earth is the reason for marine pollution - The human.

Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from land sources and human activities, and is washed or blown into the ocean.

We the human-only cares about ourself, we throw all chemical waste and wastage of our industrial, agricultural activities into the sea without thinking about the destruction that it causes to sea and marine animals.

Types of Marine waste

Plastic waste

Every year approx 14 billion pounds of trash-most of it plastic -is dumped in the world’s oceans.

There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep seep. These numbers are staggering. Scientists call these statistics "wow factor" of ocean trash.

Globally, every year 100,000 marine mammals die as a result of plastic pollution. This includes whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, and sea lions.

According to the study, It's estimated that 56% of the planet’s whale, dolphin and porpoise species have consumed plastic.

Toxic waste

Humans throw Toxic waste of industries in the sea. There are persistent toxins that do not get dissolved or disintegrate with the marine ecosystem rapidly. Toxins such as pesticides, DDT, PCBs, furans, TBT, radioactive waste, phenols, and dioxins get accumulated in the tissue cells of the marine lifeforms and lead to bioaccumulation hampering the life underwater and sometimes leads to a mutation in aquatic life forms.

Eutrophication

Eutrophication is an excess of chemical nutrients mainly nitrates and phosphates in the water, it leads to nutrient pollution. Eutrophication decreases the level of oxygen, reduces the quality of water, makes the water inhabitable for fish, affects the breeding process within the marine life, and increases the primary productivity of the marine ecosystem.

Acidification

Oceans act as a natural reservoir for absorbing carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere. But, due to the rising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the oceans across the world are becoming acidic in nature, as a consequence, it leads to acidification of oceans. Researches and scientists have not been able to uncover the potential damage ocean acidification may have on the Earth’s atmosphere. But, there is a strong concern that acidification might lead to the dissolution of calcium carbonate structures, that can affect the shell formation in shellfish and also the corals.

Top 5 polluted seas of the world :

1.The Atlantic Ocean (the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic)

The Atlantic Ocean is home to some of the world’s worst pockets of pollution. One of which is centered on the basin in the Gulf of Mexico. This enclosed section, surrounded by the USA, Mexico, and Cuba, is known as one of the largest dead zones in the world. The water in the Gulf is highly polluted with nitrogen and phosphorous which has come from American agricultural practices. This means the water is hypoxic (low in oxygen) and fish cannot survive here.

The North Atlantic is also highly polluted. The North Atlantic Garbage Patch is essentially a gigantic rubbish island that floats around in the North Atlantic Gyre. First discovered in 1972, the Patch has continued to grow and scientists now believe it is hundreds of miles wide with more than 200,000 pieces of waste per square mile.

2.Indian Ocean

According to the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX), the Indian Ocean is extremely polluted, with nearly 4 million square miles of coverage. Scientists also claim that tropical cyclones are increasingly common in the Arabian Sea (part of the Indian Ocean) as a result of this pollution.

In 2010, a monstrous plastic and chemical sludge patch was found floating in the Indian Ocean and is now categorized as the third largest of its kind in the world.

3.Mediterranean Sea

According to The United Nations Environment Program, there are 650 million tons of sewage and a combined 230,000 tons of mineral oil, mercury, lead, and phosphates dumped into the Mediterranean Sea each year.

4.Baltic Sea

Overfishing and pollution mean species living in the Baltic Sea are at extreme risk. Along with oil spills, these threats have resulted in more than half of all fish species here being categorized as at a critical level. As a result, the Finish government has rationed some types to avoid extinction.

5.Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean in the north of the Atlantic Ocean is recognized as one of the world’s worst affected areas by human activity. Waste and chemical pollution, oil spills, over-fishing and climate change all mean that marine life here is slowly dying off.

Fight with marine pollution

Sea became dirty, species of marine animals are in danger because of marine pollution, because of us. This is our responsibility to save them.

Following are some steps needed to take for fighting with marine pollution :

1. Ban of single-use plastic

There should be a ban on using single-time use plastic which can not be recycled. It is the root cause of the death of marine animals. This ban should be applied internationally.

2. Use of recyclable plastic

There should be a strict policy about only using recyclable plastic.

3. Proper treatment of sewage

Before dumping industrial waste, proper treatment should happen before disposing of it in the sea.

4. Strengthen laws about marine litter

There should be strict laws about protection of the sea and marine animals. If anybody found to breaking the law, he/she should be punished according to the seriousness of the crime

5. Monitor Marine pollution

There should be a committee whose work is to monitor all marine pollution and report it to the local government of the polluted area.

6. Public Awareness

People need to be educated about the harm they causing nature by doing marine pollution. They have to learn the importance of sea and sea animals.

Disclaimer: Data here is compiled from various sources and by our own research. These data can be approximate and Anonymous Informer does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data.

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