Irene Martín Morales I Málaga, (EFE).- The Mediterranean is on its way to becoming “a marine soup of microplastics” that accumulates “hundreds of grams” of this material per square kilometer, which is an “important and serious” problem for its species, its ecosystem and even for the human being due to the intake of contaminated fish, experts warn.
“Microplastics are everywhere and, although much remains to be known about their possible effects, in the Mediterranean, which is only 1% of the ocean, they represent 7% of global waste,” biologist Carmen Morales alerts EFE. Researcher of Structure and Dynamics of Aquatic Ecosystems at the University Institute of Marine Research (INMAR) of Cádiz.
The expert explains that the consumption of plastic has increased considerably in recent years and that this has caused “a cumulative effect” due to “a management deficit” and due to the dumping of all the garbage that “is already degrading” and is difficult to eliminate.
And all this in a sea like the Mediterranean, closed and surrounded by more than 18 countries, which renews its waters once every hundred years and which houses a large amount of waste, of which more than 95% is plastic.
All turtles have microplastics
The biologist and coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Environmental Education at the University of Malaga (UMA), Juan Jesús Martín, highlights that microplastics, due to their tiny size, “can access the food web” through marine species, which ingest them. when eating.
Those marine beings that feed on plankton, the base of the trophic chain, such as molluscs (mussels or clams), are more likely to accumulate microplastics and not expel them.
Other animals, such as sea turtles or long-lived fish, such as swordfish or tuna, also confuse it with their own food, whether on a small or large scale, which, according to Carmen Morales, can cause them “structural damage, on the digestive, endocrine or immune system and possible effects on the bloodstream or cells”.
“Absolutely all the turtles we have studied have microplastics,” says the biologist.
The presence of plastics in the sea is a serious problem for humans, both from an economic point of view, because it leads to a reduction in fishing, and health, due to the consumption of fish contaminated by plastic chemical substances.
“Microplastics are a contaminant that sometimes goes unnoticed because we live in a very visual world”, but the reality is that there already exists “a sea of plastic that enters the food chain and begins to be part of our landscapes and beaches, and that it will not bring anything positive for our health or for our economy”, the experts point out.
Reduce the consumption
The solution, say the biologists, is to “reduce consumption”, starting with “our own homes”, and with “our consumer strength” trying to “move the market towards more environmentally conscious alternatives”.
They also demand institutional measures that serve to raise awareness, clean up the ocean and above all improve waste management, which “changes a lot if it is done properly or not”, especially in “large population centers near the coast and the river” , which are another focus to study, since the garbage “continues to circulate,” says Morales.
Biologists recall that Paris will host at the end of May the signing of an international treaty that legally obliges to end pollution caused by plastic in 2040, which they see as “an opportunity” to try to tackle the problem.
Juan Jesús Martín also proposes that countries implement a waste management policy “closer to the citizen” that allows, for example, recycling empty containers and receiving a bonus through machines installed in shopping centers.
“Plastic in the sea is plastic in people, we have to be more ‘plastic-free’”, concludes this expert from Malaga. EFE