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Marine pollution is caused by the introduction (whether directly or indirectly) of substances or energy into the marine environment, which cause harm to living marine resources. Sources of marine pollution include: (1) direct discharge of effluents and solid wastes into the seas and oceans; (2) land runoff into the coastal zone, mainly from rivers; and (3) atmospheric fallout of pollutants transferred by the air mass onto the sea’s surface. Research has shown that two-thirds of the total input of contaminants into the marine environment is from landbased and atmospheric sources, constituting 44 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
Ecological impacts of marine pollution include disturbances in the function of water biotic communities and habitats and changes to hydrology and geomorphologic systems. Impacts can manifest as changes in the abundance, diversity, and fitness of individuals, populations, and communities of living marine resources. Solid wastes, heavy metals, and chlorinated hydrocarbons can damage the respiratory, reproductive, and digestive systems of marine organisms. Excess nitrogen and phosphorous inputs from agriculture can cause algal blooms that disturb the balance and structure of water ecosystems. Sewage outflows can cause oxygen deficiency that can trigger the mass mortality of water organisms.
Pesticides, Herbicides, and Fertilizers
Pesticides and herbicides used in agriculture and urban gardens are designed to kill unwanted pests. The most common type of pesticides is insecticides. They can be highly toxic and frequently pollute the coastal and marine biota due to storm water runoff. Studies have shown that less than one percent of pesticides actually end up on their target species, leaving 99 percent to pollute and contaminate the environment.
Pesticides have many effects on the marine environment, including changes to reef communities and structure, increases in algae and sponges and damage to seagrass beds and other aquatic vegetation. Further, pesticides move through the food chain as they accumulate in the biota.
An example of the impacts that fertilizers can have on the environment comes from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which analyzed the impacts of growing sugarcane along the coast adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef. To grow sugarcane in Australia, large amounts of inorganic fertilizer, particularly nitrogen, is required due to the abundance of nitrogen-poor soils along Queensland’s coast. Approximately 200 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare is applied to the cane to promote growth every year.
Only approximately 70 kilograms are taken up by the crop; the remaining 130 kilograms pollute the environment with a significant percentage reaching the marine waters of the Great Barrier Reef through stream flow runoff. During the flood events common to the monsoonal weather patterns of the Queensland coast, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations in flood plumes range between 10 to 100 times ambient concentrations, along with high levels of particulate nitrogen. The impact of this pollution has been significant to the Great Barrier Reef including a major decline in the abundance and diversity of corals and fishes.
Sewage
Sewage is a significant marine contaminant. For example, in New Jersey between 1986 and 1992, approximately 8 million tons of sewage sludge was discharged annually in water depths of 2,500 meters. Sewage outflow has significant effects, especially in developing nations. Risks to human health are great, with World Health Organization estimates showing that gastroenteritis and respiratory infections are caused every year by bathing in contaminated seawater. In 1993, the Pan American Health Organization indicated that only 10 percent of the sewage generated in Central American and Caribbean countries was properly treated. Infectious hepatitis A, a serious and debilitating disease of the liver, is a virus frequently transmitted by shellfish contaminated by sewage.
Chemical Contamination
Chemical contamination derives from the dumping of chemical wastes into the marine environment. Substances include chlorinated hydrocarbons, heavy metals, nutrients, oil hydrocarbons, surface-active substances, and artificial radio-nuclides. Ongoing bioaccumulation and biomagnification of trace elements such as mercury and lead has been found in marine mammals such as the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), and seal. This has serious health implications for peoples such as the Inuit of Alaska and other Arctic areas, who rely upon marine resources as significant sources of protein.
Tourism
Coastal and marine tourism is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the global economy. Visitor numbers frequently exceed the carrying capacity of the environment-its water supplies, available space, and the ability of habitats to absorb visitor impacts and provide an enjoyable experience. Coastal erosion, pollution, habitat destruction, and social decay are common consequences. Tourist boats, curio collectors, reef walkers, snorkelers and scuba divers have damaged coral reefs in many tropical countries.
Shipping
Shipping, ship groundings, and collisions are a major source of marine pollution. Contaminants include hazardous and noxious substances, hydrocarbons, ballast water discharge that spreads marine pests, and antifouling paints. An estimated 10,000 marine species are being transported in ships’ ballast water between bio-geographic regions at any given moment worldwide.
It is estimated that the global shipping industry discharges up to 5.5 million items of waste every day. The application of antifouling paints remains an ongoing problem. For example, in Korea, while the practice of applying antifouling paint containing organotin compounds to ship surfaces was halted beginning in 2003, and antifouling paint is supposed to be completely removed from surfaces by 2008, ships are still frequently dry-docked for repainting in shipyards. There, high pressure water and sand particles are used to remove impurities, such as attached marine organisms, salts and slime, and old paint from the ship’s surface. In this process, major contamination occurs from the particles of antifouling paint that are often discharged directly into the marine environment.
Marine Debris
Millions of tons of plastic and glass enter the oceans each year. Major sources of plastic are from fishing equipment, packaging materials, convenience items, and raw plastics. Wildlife is at particular risk from plastic, with over 100,000 birds, whales, seals, and turtles killed by plastic rubbish each year. Birds get tangled in plastic can holders and turtles ingest plastic bags, perhaps mistaking them for jellyfish. Recent entanglement studies estimate that in Australia, 1,478 seals die from entanglement in fishing nets each year; the entanglement rates for Australian sea lions were 1.3 percent in 2002 and for the New Zealand fur seal 0.9 percent. This issue is compounded by the long “shelf time” most marine debris has before biodegrading fully; plastic bags take up to 1,000 years, glass bottles one million years, and plastic bottles may last indefinitely.
Noise Pollution
In some areas, noise pollution at sea has doubled every decade for the past 60 years. Sources of ocean noise pollution include explosives, underwater construction activities, ship traffic, seismic survey activity, and oceanographic experimentation.
Noise proliferation is a significant threat to the survival of many marine mammals, and to other resources. Research shows that noise pollution is reducing marine faunas’ ability to find food, locate mates, avoid predators, and communicate with each other. This is particularly so with marine mammals who use sonar as a guidance mechanism.
Management Initiatives
Given the significant effect of marine pollution, there are a number of tools and treaties that attempt to mitigate its impact. The United Nations and others have established over 200 initiatives to manage and mitigate pollution and degradation of the marine environment at the global and regional levels including: (1) the Global Program of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (1995); (2) the Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Sources and Activities in the Caribbean; (3) the International Maritime Organizations Antifouling Treaty (2001); (4); the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (1972); (5) the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft (1972); (6) the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Landbased Sources (1974); and (7) the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Northeast Atlantic (1992).
Bibliography:
- M. Adams, “Assessing Cause and Effect of Multiple Stressors on Marine Systems,” Marine Pollution Bulletin (v.51, 2005);
- Baur and S. Iudicello, “Stemming the Tide of Marine Debris Pollution: Putting Domestic and International Control Authorities to Work,” Ecology Law Quarterly (v.71, 1990);
- Boczek, “Global and Regional Approaches to the Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment,” Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law (v.39, 1984);
- Champ, “Economic and Environmental Impacts on Ports and Harbors from the Convention to Ban Harmful Marine Antifouling Systems,” Marine Pollution Bulletin (v.46, 2003);
- Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection, Report of the Twenty-Eighth Session of GESAMP, gesamp.imo.org (cited April 2006);
- Pagea et al., “Entanglement of Australian Sea Lions and New Zealand Fur Seals in Lost Fishing Gear and Other Marine Debris Before and After Government and Industry Attempts to Reduce the Problem,” Marine Pollution Bulletin (v.49, 2004);
- W. Pereira et , “Accumulation of Butyltins in Sediments and Lipid Tissues of the Asian Clam, Potamocorbula Amurensis, Near Mare Island Naval Shipyard, San Francisco Bay,” Marine Pollution Bulletin (v.38, 1999);
- Schleyer, J. Heikoop, and M. Risk, “A Benthic Survey of Aliwal Shoal and Assessment of the Effects of a Wood Pulp Effluent on the Reef,” Marine Pollution Bulletin (v.22 2005);
- Y. Song, Woo, S. Park, and I. Kim, “A Study on the Treatment of Antifouling Paint Waste from a Shipyard,” Marine Pollution Bulletin (v.51, 2005).
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