Everyone on planet earth, is directly affected by ocean pollution, you may just not know it yet. Unfortunately, the ocean has served as a dumping ground for decades. Where everything from plastic containers to toxic metals ends up in it. Human behaviour is the direct cause for contaminated sea life which turns into contaminated seafood, massive dead zones, and degragaded biodiversity. 

The waste humans create doesn’t stay secluded in the ocean: where it is out of sight out of mind. Instead the same polluted ocean ends up back on our plates, in the form of polluted seafood, we eat our own waste for dinner. To put it bluntly, we are polluting ourselves.

How Much Pollution Is there?

Pollution in literally everywhere in the ocean. Estimates by researchers suggest that there are 5.25 trillion individual pieces of plastic floating in the ocean. This number may be hard for the human mind to fathom. Another way to look at it, there are more than 656 times as much pieces of plastic in the ocean as there are people living on earth.

What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?

When you hear the term “Pacific Garbage Patch,” you might be thinking of a funny doll or toy for a child. However the pacific garbage patch is a massive continuous patch of garbage made up of everything from fishing nets to bottles floating in the Pacific Ocean. Sadly, much of the plastic found in this area has been broken down into tiny pieces, not visible to the human eye.

What are Dead Zones?

Dead Zones wreak havoc on ocean life. Plastic isn’t the only type of pollution destroying the world’s waterways. Many coastal areas and bays fall victim to dead zones, which can be a result from an over-saturation of nutrients or pollutants found in the water.

Certain types of fishing, such as trawling, can cause dead zones. Agricultural pollution on land that streams into waterways can also cause dead zones. In 2017, a meat producer was blamed for creating the largest dead zone ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. The dead zone covered an area the size of New Jersey.

The areas are called dead zones because there’s so little oxygen in the water that nothing can survive. Toxins from animal waste make their way to the Gulf through rivers, where they create nutrient-dense marine environments. Algae then bloom in very high densities, depriving water of oxygen. The resulting low-oxygen environment forces marine life to leave the area, or else perish.

Top 5 Ocean Pollutants

1. Runoff Pollution

Runoff pollution also known as nonpoint source pollution, originates from various sources such as sewers, drains, and agricultural spills among them. However, it all ends up in the same place: the ocean. Oftentimes, the runoff contains harmful chemicals or other types of waste that can wreak havoc on water quality and can also destroy marine life.

2. Intentional Discharge

Though banned in the United States, factories in some parts of the world still release chemicals directly into the oceans. large Tankers will also often discharge waste into the ocean, separate from an accidental spill. Also discharge into the ocean should be heavily frowned upon with global laws preventing such activity.

3. Oil Spills

Oil spills can be one of the most dangerous and damaging occurrences for ocean life. You may recall the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a period of 87 days in which 4 million barrels of oil flowed freely into the ocean from a defunct oil tanker. The event was an ecological disaster. Oceans have still not fully recovered more than a decade later.

4. Littering

Compared to oil rigs spills and factory runoffs, you might think letting your garbage fly off the picnic table is no big deal but it is. The reality most littered items end up in water systems, and the impacts are detrimental.

In 2020, there were 50 billion pieces of litter along roads and highways in USA. Much of that litter will make its way into oceans, from local drainage systems. Preventing litter is important to reducing the waste that end up in our oceans.

5. Ocean Mining

Though a relatively new industry worldwide, experts caution that deep sea mining will cripple ocean ecosystems. Despite the warnings, over two dozen permits for ocean gold mining from the ocean’s floor have already been issued to begin.

6 Types of Ocean Pollution

Humans are the primary drivers of ocean pollution, regardless of whether it comes directly from a factory or a farms. Ocean pollution comes 5 different forms: agricultural, chemical, light, noise, and plastic.

What is Agricultural Pollution?

Agricultural pollution comes from farms, typically from the chemicals and pesticides used. Runoff from both crops or animals are possible pollutants. One example is fish farming, which often has a direct water exchange with the ocean water systems. Fish farming allows parasites, waste, pesticides, fertilizers and antibiotics to flow freely back into the clean water potentially destroying marine life or contaminating food sources.

What is Chemical Pollution?

Chemical pollutants can come in many forms. The most common chemical pollutant is oil, with non-degradable chemicals and toxic metals also causing immense damage.

Unlike most types of ocean pollution, oil pollution can be extremely damaging from one large spill event. Perhaps the most famous example was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred in April 2010 and  continues to impact the ocean and its shorelines today.

Non-degradable chemicals also called ”forever chemicals” are also a massive source of pollution, and damage. These chemicals can be found in everything from food packaging to fabrics. They’ve also been found in numerous different marine species, including wild fish.

Mercury, cadmium and lead are toxic metals, that can all be found in the ocean. Though they can all occur naturally, human activity can increase levels. In the case of mercury, most of it enters the oceans from industrial runoff, or via coal power plant wastewater. The mercury then enter fish such as Tuna which is then consumed by humans.

Cadmium and lead are also toxic metals released from plastics into the ocean. Once released they can reattach to plastic consumed by fish or other wildlife, which can then end up as part of the human food chain.

What is Light Pollution?

Light pollution comes from artificial sources like boats, offshore mining platforms, and coastal cities infrastructure. Example of the impacts of light pollution on marine life involves sea turtles, who are disoriented by artificial light. The light becomes a problem for nesting turtle mothers., who are often discouraged from nesting sites where there is too much light. Light pollution also affects hatchlings, who are disoriented and take longer to find the ocean, exposing them to predators. Turtles are not the only animals affected by light pollution. Light pollution also impacts certain species of birds, fish, and invertebrates in negative ways.

What is Noise Pollution?

Noise pollution in the ocean is a widespread problem. It affects various species of fish, invertebrates and marine mammals. Noise pollution can range from relatively low-yet-constant disruptions — to the deafening sounds produced by oil and gas exploration, as well as naval sonar.

Even when sound is relatively low in terms of decibels, noise pollution can cause serious problems for ocean life. For example, cetaceans like whales and dolphins are primarily acoustic animals. As noise pollution increases, cetaceans’ ability to communicate and navigate — particularly over long distances — is severely hampered, causing them stress.

On the other end of the auditory spectrum is noise pollution from the fossil fuel industry. In the search for oil and gas deposits, seismic airguns are used to issue extremely loud blasts. These blasts can travel for 2,500 miles and are repeated every few seconds, 24 hours a day, for days or weeks at a time. They are among the loudest human-made sounds in the ocean. Seismic airguns seriously disrupt the lives of all marine life, including dolphins and whales.

What is Plastic Pollution?

Plastic pollution is one of the most prolific types of pollution in the oceans today. Plastic is virtually used everywhere and disposed of everywhere. A quick look  at our garbage reveals everything from plastic packaging to plastic cups, plates, and utensils.

Scientists Develop “Superprotein” to Eat Plastic Waste

Even our appliances are built with plastic parts. All this plastic makes its way back into the ocean, where it kills marine-life via entanglement, ingestion, and becomes a pollutant.

What is Air Pollution?

Believe it or not even air pollution can pollute the ocean. According to the National Oceanic and atmospheric administration, one serious consequence of atmospheric pollution of the ocean is “Ocean Acidification” which occurs when airborne carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by seawater, causing chemical reactions that reduce seawater pH and may affect many marine organisms.

Air pollution is emitted from such places as factories, vehicles, industrial farms, and energy power plants that burn coal or oil. Although pollutants may seem to drift away into the sky, in fact they can be absorbed by the ocean water surface, come down as rain directly into the ocean or through water ways that link back to the ocean.

The Origin of Ocean Pollution

Surprisingly, most ocean pollution comes from the land. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a staggering 80 percent of marine pollution originates on land in the form of runoff; pollution is swept back into oceans through rain into rivers then back into the ocean. Septic tanks, automobiles, farms, factories and ranches account for most of the ocean pollution.

How Bad Is Ocean Pollution?

Plastic pollution alone is now referred to as a pandemic due to its enormous size. A World Wildlife Fund report found that an enormous amount of plastic is making its way into the oceans, as well as other environments is astronomical in amount. Every year, around 500 billion plastic bags are used, and a dump truckload of plastic is dumped into the ocean every single minute.

It’s not just plastic. Everything we throw away potentially ends up in the ocean. As a result some of it makes its way back into our bodies via the food system. Fish containing toxic metals and micro-plastics are being served up around the world with no one the wiser. the pollution we emit could be secretly destroying our health.

Where Is Ocean Pollution the Worst?

Plastic pollution often collects in ocean gyres, also known as trash vortexes. These trash vortexes exist in many of the world’s great oceans. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, for example, is said to cover an area 1.6 million square kilometeres wide. Lots of plastic garbage also lines the shores of beaches in South America, Asia, and Africa.

Harmful Effects of Pollution

Harm to Marine Species

Marine species suffer immensely from ocean pollution. They get entangled in plastic packaging, and eat the colourful plastic caps and little plastic bits from our food and beverages. This is detrimental to marine life health and the entire ecosytem.

Depletion of Oxygen in Seawater

Pollution, specifically chemical pollution, causes dead zones that use up all the oxygen in the surrounding bodies of water. This is extremely dangerous and it creates a deadly environment for plants and animal life to survive.

Threats to Human Health

Humans are not spared from ocean pollution. Not only are beaches closed in the face of excessive runoff or other water pollution events, but the seafood people consume can often be contaminated with plastics, toxic chemicals and harmful metals.

The Impact of Pollution on Seafood

Seafood is not free from the impacts of ocean pollution. In fact marine animals that people eat are permeated by the pollutants which are dumped into the ocean. When humans eat them, we are literally eating our own pollution, in the form of plastics, toxic metals or forever chemicals.

The Final Word

There’s nothing quite like standing on an ocean shoreline and starring out at the great blue waves of the ocean. Unfortunately, instead of protecting our cherished resources, humanity is destroying it through pollution. Ocean pollution is a complex problem, a pervasive issue driven by mass production, consumerism, and lack of care for our earth. The results, wreaks havoc on ocean ecosystems the world over. More action in the form of Global Laws are needed to protect our oceans and stop the destructive cycle of pollution — if our global oceans are to survive and thrive in the future.