Marine Pollution: A Danger to the Planet
Every year, about 40 million liters of oil are spilled across the Niger Delta in Nigeria. According to the Guardian, “Vast areas of the state’s waterways and mangrove swamps — one of the most diverse ecosystems in Africa — have been destroyed or put at risk.” This has led to high mortality in the aquatic environment, with particular losses of crabs, fish, and embryonic shrimp.
The Glossary of Environmental Statistics defines Marine Pollution as the “direct or indirect introduction by humans of substances or energy into the marine environment (including estuaries), resulting in harm to living resources, hazards to human health, hindrances to marine activities including fishing, impairment of the quality of seawater and reduction of amenities.”
It encompasses many types of pollution that disrupt the marine ecosystem, including chemical, light, noise, and plastic pollution. Chemical pollution involves introducing harmful contaminants such as crude oil, pesticides, detergents, and sewage into the environment.
Light pollution addresses the effect of artificial light on marine organisms. Noise pollution penetrates sound waves, oil rigs, sonar devices, and ships, thereby distorting the natural rhythm of water bodies; and Plastic pollution has the highest guilt because of its commonality and diversity.
Plastic waste is the most visible marine pollution component and covers 60–90% of the marine pollution mix. This is because more than ten million tons of plastic enter the seas every year. The majority of this breaks down into microplastic particles and accumulates in coastal and deep-sea sediments.
Why Are We Concerned?
A recent study estimated that, in 2012 alone, 16,000 babies died within the first month of life because of oil pollution in the Niger Delta. There are acute and long-term implications to the ingestion, contact, and inhalation of constituents of spilled crude oil. Severe exposures can result in acute renal failure, hepatoxicity, hemotoxicity, infertility, and even cancer. Pollution caused by pesticides and sewage increases the frequency of harmful algal blooms, known as red tides, brown tides, and green tides. These blooms produce potent toxins like ciguatera and domoic acid that accumulate in fish and shellfish. When ingested, these toxins can cause dementia, amnesia, paralysis, and even rapid death. When inhaled, they can cause asthma.
A plastic bottle can last up to 450 years in the marine environment, and its effects are wide-ranging because it chokes wildlife above and below the waterline. Based on estimates by The Commonwealth, one million sea birds and an unknown number of sea turtles die each year due to plastic debris clogging their digestive tracts, and marine animals of all sorts can become tangled and incapacitated by discarded fishing lines and plastic bags. Also, fish and other marine life ingest microplastics that can find their way into the human food chain.
What Can We Do?
We need to consistently demand plastic-free alternatives and encourage the recycling and reuse of plastics.
Dampening unnecessary lights at night can limit light pollution and encourage responsible chemical use through consumer and political actions to protect the future environment.
Carbon dioxide, a known greenhouse gas, is making our oceans more acidic. This influx is contributing to the loss of corals on a global scale. By reducing our carbon footprint, more focus will be placed on re-building aquatic life rather than diminishing them.
Finally, there is a significant need to implement local and international policies that forbid the dumping of harmful materials into the ocean.
Author: Oluwagbemibori Olaoye
Photo: thegef.org
