Marine pollution and its dangers
Marine pollution comes from irresponsible behavior and lack of knowledge on the part of man over the last few years. Because of the immensity and depth of the oceans, until recently, man believed that they could be used to dump all the garbage produced, without consequences. However, nowadays we already have enough knowledge to know that this is not the case. An example of this is the dead zones (where marine life cannot survive) or the so-called “big islands of plastic”: large expanses of plastic of more than 1600 kilometers, such as the “Great Pacific garbage patch”, and which we can find in all the oceans of our planet.
Pollution is the environmental damage caused by garbage introduced into the ocean, the existence of garbage in the sea and the garbage itself in a given ecosystem. This damage is caused when human activities increase the concentration of a substance in seawater, sediments or organisms above their natural concentrations.
The plastics and the oceans
Plastics can be divided into two groups: microplastics ( 5mm).
Both groups are increasingly having a huge impact on the marine biota as a whole. The current relentless pace of single-use plastic production makes plastics one of the most widespread and chronic drivers of marine pollution. It is especially important to mention the great impact of microplastics. These small particles are dumped into the sea in many different ways and are distributed along ocean basins by marine currents, resulting in a global distribution of these materials (Figure 3).
Large amounts of plastic have already been found in the stomachs of cetaceans, seabirds, fish, turtles and other organisms in our oceans. In 2013, 17 kg of plastic were found in the stomachs of a sperm whale in southern Spain. In 2016, on the shores of the North Sea, 13 of the 29 sperm whales were found to be plastic waste, such as a 13-meter fishing net and a 70-cm piece of plastic belonging to a car.
The same has happened with turtles: they ingest plastic bags, mistaking them for jellyfish, which causes the intestines to become blocked, the intestinal wall perforated and the release of toxic chemicals into their body.
Pollution in the Azores Sea
When we look at the crystalline and blue waters of the sea of our Archipelago, we can think that there is no pollution. And when it comes to chemical pollutants, the seas in the Azores are relatively clean. However, it is important to mention the existence of large amounts of plastic. To date, no plastic waste has been found in the stomachs of sperm whales found in the region, and the same is not happening with turtles or seabirds. In 2016, after analyzing 30 turtles, it was found that 83% of the animals had plastic in their bodies. In 2015, within the scope of the SOS Cagarro Campaign, 149 birds were found with the presence of plastic in the body, an average of five fragments per animal.
In 2015, a series of actions and projects began in the Azores to monitor the presence of plastic and other pollutants in Azorean waters. In 2015, the “Azores entre mares 2015” campaign removed a ton of garbage from the sea and coastal areas. There were approximately: 380 kilos of plastic, 300 kilos of unsorted waste, 240 kilos of metal and 60 kilos of glass. The campaign included almost a hundred activities across the archipelago, coordinated by the Island Natural Parks, with the objective of “raising awareness of the problem of marine pollution and coastal areas”, stressing that “it marked the beginning of the systematic collection of information concerning garbage collected in underwater and coastal cleaning campaigns”. However, despite the great effort made since these dates, there is still a lot of work to be done.
The Instituto do Mar (IMAR) LIXAZ project, which will run until 2019, intends to continue the AZORLIT project (which took place between 2015 and 2016). This project will study the amount of marine litter in the Azores and its impact on the food ecology of marine species. On the other hand, the Azores region, through the Regional Science Fund and IMAR, is also a partner in the European project INDICIThttps://indicit-europa.eu) which aims to implement indicators related to the impact of marine litter on sea turtles and other living beings.
What can we do to reduce our impact?
There are many little things we can do to reduce our impact on marine litter. During the cetacean watching and the swimming trips with dolphins carried out Picos de Aventura, we often come across large amounts of garbage, from plastic bags, cans and fishing nets. Whenever possible, we collect these objects and take the opportunity to explain to our customers that this type of garbage has a very high negative impact on many marine animals, namely whales, dolphins and turtles.
We also take advantage of our small environmental education project called Picoslogia(in which we visit students from local schools to talk about our trips and the sighting of whales, dolphins and turtles) and we also talk about marine pollution, trying to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the ocean and keeping it clean.
References:
- https://laboralfq.files.wordpress.com
- http://www.nationalgeographic.es
- http://wwf.panda.org
- http://www.azores.gov.pt
- http://www.nature.com
- https://www.theguardian.com
- https://www.ecologistasenaccion.org
- Clark, R. B. Marine Pollution. 5a ed. Oxford, 2001. ISBN 0 19 879292 1
