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Marine Pollution Research Paper

796 Words4 Pages

The sources of marine litter may be broadly divided into sea-based and land-based. Land-based sources account for approximately 80percent of marine pollution, globally while some 20percent of sea pollution comes from sea-based sources. Major factors leading to marine pollution are as follows:
2.1. Oil Spills: Oil spills occur when liquid petroleum hydrocarbon is released in the form of crude oil, refined petroleum, gasoline, diesel and their by-products from tankers, drilling rigs, wells, and offshore platforms and mostly commonly associated with shipping pollution.

2.2. Shipping Pollution: Commercial fishing vessels, merchant and military vessels, recreational boats, cruise ships and offshore petroleum platforms produce large amounts of …show more content…

CONSEQUENCES OF MARINE POLLUTION

3.1. Effect on Marine Ecosystems
i. Oil floats on the surface of water and prevents sunlight from reaching marine plants and affects in the process of photosynthesis. Oil gets easily stuck on the skin and fur of animals and causes them to suffocate until they die. In mammals and seabirds it can cause a breakdown in their thermal insulation and they can die of hyperthermia because of it. The toxic chemicals in the oil can cause physiological damage which can include changes of behaviour. It can also damage the reproductive systems which has an effect on the population of a species. ii. Pesticides like DDT and other chemicals run into rivers and, through the food chain, build up in large quantities in marine mammals and birds, causing them to have reproductive failure. iii. Marine debris such as nets and ropes, monofilament lines, six-pack rings and packing strapping bands injure and kill various marine species by entangling them. Several marine animals suffer deaths by strangulation, drowning or suffocation. Entanglement impairs an animal’s ability to swim, find food or escape from …show more content…

Effects on Human Health
One of the main ways that pollution affects humans is through the food chain, which makes it a direct correlation to the effect of pollution on sea life. When an edible fish is contaminated and it passesup via the food chain to the humans, the human may eat this fish and have toxins in his or her body. The harm could be as minor as a stomach bug or as major as a deadly poison. This toxicity gets concentrated due to passage through various levels of the food chain and it affects humans greatly.
Another imminent problem is toxic algal blooms whichare widely spread on coasts and move up the food chain. The toxins in the blooms affect humans simply through skin and aerosol contact, causing health problems like nausea, respiratory failure, and memory loss. In the suomotoKarachi Coastline Case , it was observed that exporting infected shrimp and fish is also an important trans-border problemas it affects people who consume this infected seafood in different countries.
An exhaustive list cannot be made of the impact that such activities have on marine ecosystems and on human health. One thing is certain, marine pollution has major repercussions not only on marine life but also human life and the impact is greater with each passing

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