What will become of the Mediterranean if we do not work? Two news after a few days point the spotlight on the Mare Nostrum. (source cover image: The Westerly Sun) The first is this. The One Ocean Foundation association warns: the Mediterranean is invaded by one of the highest concentrations of the highest microplastics in the world. The second is this, re-launched by the magazine of Nature: over six thousand dolphins are killed every year in the French section of the Mare Nostrum. Disturbing news that every lover of the sea must know, because we can also do something to prevent what is happening. Let’s see what we are talking about.
FISHES EAT PLASTIC TOGETHER WITH US
1.2 million microplastics per square kilometer are present in the Mediterranean, says One Ocean Foundation. They are fragments of less than 5 millimeters that are practically invisible, fish and marine animals exchange them for plankton, for example, whales filter 700,000 liters of water every time they open their mouths taking on a huge amount of plastics and microplastics that have a high concentration of pollutants.
Maria Cristina Fossi of the University of Siena, one of the world’s leading experts on marine litter impacts on biodiversity, states: “How much of these pollutants can be transported in species such as tuna, bass (sea bass) or sword (and therefore end on our tables) and what are the consequences on the final consumer, is an aspect still to be investigated. “From the data that emerge, 15-20% of the examined species present microplastics, but in small quantities, we speak of 1-3 fragments of less than 5 millimeters” – Fossi explains – “Now we have to understand if these microplastics transport pollutants”.
The Massacre of Dolphines
The Pélagis Observatory has been publishing for years, without being heard, alarming reports on the decline of the dolphin population. In the waters off the French west coast, in the period between January and March, an average of 6 thousand dolphins are killed. A real massacre. Caused by large fishing vessels that operate the trawl technique hunting for seabass.
Here’s what Nature magazine says: “Dolphins that routinely live together with seabasses end up in the meshes of fishing nets that indiscriminately capture everything they encounter along their route. Trapped dolphins drown in the net while those that are caught live usually die from injuries inflicted by fishermen on board ships. The carcasses that regularly arrive on the French beaches show fractures, tails and broken fins and deep skin incisions caused by the nets “. How to limit this massacre, in the absence of rules? “We invite consumers to completely avoid undersized fish – concluded the association -. The advice, if you decide to eat fish, is to choose exclusively fish caught with the line, “say those of the association Pélagis Observatory. Easy to say, hard to do.
