Impacts of Plastic Pollution in the Oceans, on Marine Species, Biodiversity and Ecosystems

• World Wildlife Fund • Plastics & Pollution

Impacts of Plastic Pollution in the Oceans, on Marine Species, Biodiversity and Ecosystems
Nariman Mesharrafa on Unsplash

The report by researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) reveals a serious and rapidly worsening situation that demands immediate and concerted international action:

  • Today almost every species group in the ocean has encountered plastic pollution, with scientists observing negative effects in almost 90% of assessed species.
  • Not only has plastic pollution entered the marine food web, it is significantly affecting the productivity of some of the world’s most important marine ecosystems like coral reefs and mangroves.
  • Several key global regions – including the Mediterranean, the East China and Yellow Seas and Arctic sea ice – have already exceeded plastic pollution thresholds beyond which significant ecological risks can occur, and several more regions are expected to follow suit in the coming years.
  • If all plastic pollution inputs stopped today, marine microplastic levels would still more than double by 2050 – and some scenarios project a 50-fold increase by 2100.

Read the full report here

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