Regulators missing pollution’s effect on marine life, study finds
By Karen McVeigh | 4/27/21 | The Guardian
Increasing chemical and plastic pollution are “significant” contributors to the decline of fish and other aquatic organisms, yet their impact is being missed by regulators, according to a report by environmentalists.
The report, Aquatic Pollutants in Oceans and Fisheries, by the International Pollutants Elimination Network and the National Toxics Network, draws together scientific research on how pollution is adversely affecting the aquatic food chain. It catalogues the “serious impacts” of “invisible killers” such as persistent organic pollutants and excessive nutrients on the immunity, fertility, development and survivaL of aquatic animals.
In it, scientists argue the regulation of fisheries does not always take into account biologically or scientifically relevant data on all contributors to the health of fish populations, leading to a “narrow view” of declining numbers based on quota catch rates and efforts. “Regulators have yet to grasp the impact of pollution,” the report says.
“Many people think fish declines are just the result of overfishing,” said Dr Matt Landos, the report’s co-author and a director of Future Fisheries Veterinary Service, a consultancy based in New South Wales, Australia. “In fact, the entire aquatic food web has been seriously compromised, with fewer and fewer fish at the top, losses of invertebrates in the sediments and water column, less healthy marine algae, coral and other habitats, as well as a proliferation of bacteria and toxic algal blooms.”