Human activities affecting ocean’s deepest part -Study

A new study has revealed that human activities are affecting the deepest part of the ocean, more than 1,000 kilometers from the mainland.

The study, tagged ‘Human Footprint in the Abyss: 30 Year Records of Deep Sea Plastic Debris’, revealed that single-use plastic has reached the world’s deepest ocean trench.

“The ubiquitous distribution of single-use plastic, even to the greatest depths of the ocean, reveals a clear link between daily human activities and the remotest of environments,” the report said.

It further noted that once in the deep-sea, plastic can persist for thousands of years, adding that deep-sea ecosystems are highly endemic and have a very slow growth rate, so the potential threats from plastic pollution are cause for serious concern.

According to the report, plastic pollution is emerging as one of the most serious threats to ocean ecosystems, adding that world leaders, scientists and communities recognize the urgent need for action, but the impacts of plastic pollution are not well understood.

There is growing concern that deep-sea ecosystems are already being damaged by direct exploitation of both biological and non-biological resources through deep-sea trawling, mining and infrastructure development

The Global Oceanographic Data Centre of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology launched a database for public use in 2017 which revealed that, from 5,010 dives, more than 3,000 pieces of manmade debris, including plastic, metal, rubber and fishing gear were counted.

While noting that reducing the production of plastic waste seems to be the only solution to the problem of deep-sea plastic pollution, the report said a global monitoring network is needed to share the limited data on deep-sea plastic pollution, and that impact assessment surveys should be prioritised for biologically and ecologically important areas with high concentrations of plastic debris.