Pollution in the Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the world's largest ocean. Five out of seven continents have their boundaries touching the Pacific Ocean. 45% of the world's total water surface is the Pacific and 32% of the world's total area is also Pacific. Major port cities like Auckland, Brisbane, Lima, Hong Kong, Manila,  San Francisco, San Diego, Tokyo, Sydney, Osaka etc are located on the bank of the Pacific Ocean. Larger ports bring larger marine activities. Mining, fishing and navy activities have the highest frequency in the Pacific Ocean. Also, toxins and chemicals from industrial activities, nuclear debris, sewage etc also pollute the ocean.

(1) Plastic Pollution and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch:

Plastic pollution is a major problem in the Pacific Ocean. 90% of floating debris in the Pacific Ocean is plastic. It takes a couple of seconds to throw plastic waste in the ocean, but it takes thousands of years to decompose it. Most of the debris are bottles, bags, brushes and some other daily used materials. The debris collected from rivers and lakes is also directly dumped into the Pacific Ocean. Tourist activities also increase the amount of debris in the ocean. Most of this debris is found in the area of the North Pacific Ocean called as "Great Pacific Garbage Patch".

The area is also known as the Pacific trash vortex. These are not small patches of floating debris but they are large islands of debris. Millions of plastic trash are still floating in this area. The patch covers 1.6 million sq km of the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of tons of wastes including bottles, pens, cellphones, toilet papers etc are dumped in that patch every day. It was Charles Moore who first noticed this great patch during one of his expedition. After that many missions and voyages have been done to highlight the seriousness of marine pollution. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand are the major contributors of trash to the ocean. Alone China is the reason behind 30% of worldwide ocean pollution. The great patch alone has 7 million tons of fishing nets, which means 46% area of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is covered with fishing nets. Apart from fishing nets, 1.8 trillion plastic pieces are still floating in the great patch. 

Such a large amount of debris has a direct effect on marine species. By 2050, there will be more plastic in this patch than the fishes. Plastic has now entered the food chain of marine species. Plastic pollution has affected more than 700 marine species including dolphins, sea turtles, whales etc. Nearly 1.5 million Laysan albatrosses have plastic in their intestines. One-third of babies of these species die due to accidental ingestion of plastic. Some of the species also die due to suffocation after being trapped in plastic debris like bottle and bags. Some of them face severe injuries after getting trapped in fishing nets and ropes, which sometimes lead to death. Microplastics are concentrated in the gills and intestines of these species leading to death. Much small plastic debris like bottle caps, small plastic pieces etc were also found in their intestines. Humans eating these marine species also shows many health issues. Hence plastic eventually damages our own existence. It is now very important for all nations to stop plastic pollution in oceans and seas.

(2) Nuclear Dumping:

Till now, 13 countries have dumped their nuclear waste in the Ocean. These radioactive waste contain both type, liquid and solid waste in containers, reactor parts and damaged nuclear fuel. However, ocean disposal of radioactive wastes has been banned through many international pacts and treaties. More than 80,000 TBq of radioactive wastes have been dumped in the Pacific Ocean. The US alone has dumped more than 100,000 drums of radioactive waste in the Pacific Ocean. Soviets also dumped a large amount of waste in the ocean. The radiation is absorbed by many marine plants, animals and also by water. As these radioactive materials have a very large high life, they will be there in the ocean bed for thousands of years. Larger fishes are more sensitive to radiation than smaller fishes. A study in 1999 found that seals and porpoises have absorbed a large number of radiations in the last few decades. 

Apart from dumping, sometimes accidents also release a large number of radiations in the ocean water. For example the Fukushima Disaster. 2011 tsunami destroyed the nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan. Many marine species near the coast of Fukushima were contaminated by radiations. As a result, many countries like the US, UK etc stopped importing marine products from Japan.

The radiations absorbed by fishes eventually enter the human body. Hence radiations not only damage marine life but also affect human life.

(3) Effects of pollution on Marine Life:

A study showed that fishes consume 12,000 to 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year. This lead to the transfer of plastic to larger fishes and eventually entering the human body. One-fourth of fishes sold in markets of California contain plastic in their intestines. Sea turtles mistake plastic for their food. This lead to their deaths in large numbers. 60% of all the seabird species consume plastic. This number will increase to 99% by 2050. Many seabirds were found dead with a stomach full of plastic. Apart from seabirds and turtles, many larger fishes like whales were also found dead with full of plastic.

(4) Oil spills and Deep sea mining:

A large amount of crude oil is dumped into the Pacific due to intentional discharge and accidents. Crude oil is very hard to clear. It blankets hundreds of water blocking oxygen and sunlight for marine species. The ocean floor has many valuable metals like gold, copper, silver and zinc. When extracted these metals add excessive minerals to the ocean water. This leads to the unwanted growth of algae and other fungi on the water surface. This creates a blanket with suffocates the fishes. They create a dead zone, where fishes cannot breathe and eventually die. Many fishes can escape the dead zone but not all. Many get trapped there and dies there. The oil also covers the gills of fishes. 

There are still many factors affecting the marine ecosystem. All these factors have a direct effect on the food chain, which is not a good sign. If not stopped today, we will face a huge problem in future. Today we have resources and time to stop these pollutions. But in future, we might not have.