MARINE POLLUTION: THE PROMBLEMATIC OF MICROPLASTIC.

MARINE POLLUTION: THE PROMBLEMATIC OF MICROPLASTIC.

Today we use plastics – a material designed to last forever for products designed to last minutes without thinking of its effect in the environment. Microplastics a major threat to the marine environment and there’s great need for the governments with sea border to take a proactive step in curbing the menace. Throughout history of mankind, the mass of water was assumed to have the unlimited power to sink wastes, disperse dilute and redistribute natural and synthetic substances.

However, this is not the case as we have realized that the mass of water has no such capacity.

Literature lets us to know that there’s approximately million tons of litter deposited in oceans and seas. Every year it is estimated that 8 million tons of daily sewages and 5 million tons of solid residues are thrown into the marine environment by boats. This scenario is increasingly worrisome as the world economic foum, a maritime magazine, published in January, 2016 by the new plastics economy that ther will be more plastic than fish by 2050.

These statistics shows that marine litter is a great and crescent environmental threat since it can be found in seas and oceans far away from its source of pollution. This issue has been on the front burner for a long time because in 1972, Carpenter et al, warned about the increase of plastic production which could lead to great, concentration of plastics on the surface of the ocean.  Therefore, there is greater need to deal with this contamination before it is too late, especially in ocean, where they undergo degradation and fragmentation.

What is microplastic? These are debris of plastic which have migrated through the oceans and transformed into small fragments which are known as microplastics. They receiver this designation because of their size usually smaller than 5mm.

The contamination of the marine environments by microplastics has many adverse impacts especially has it affect organisms. The ingestion of microplastics by small organism will come a decreases in food consumption because this can lead to satiation and intestinal blockage leading to death. It is a fact that presence of plastic debris in beach sand slows the heating of sediments. This can adversely impact on organism s depending on temperature to reproduce.

Furthermore, the permeability of sand increase with the presence of microplastics. This can lead to dissication stress which could negatively affect the embryonic development of eggs of several sea lifwe like crustaceans, mollusks, polycheates and fishes.

Permeability increase also leads to a change in trace element found on beach sediments when  flow to the permeability increase it causes traceelements to cycle on the beach sediments. When sands have increased permeability, water is easily flushed through the ocean allowing more oxygen and organic matter to flow to the small intestinal organisms. More oxygen ensures that there’s an increase or abundance of such organisms, which in turn will release a higher amounts of compound from their metabolism in water.

All the efforts put in place by various country’s regulations, the situation continues to worsen. Delays in the application and filment of the already existing regulations or either the lack of supervision or of specific regulation in several parts of the world are contributing for such increasing problems.

China and Indonesia are the top countries in the world with mismanaged plastic waste polluting the oceans. In Indonesia like many other countries of the world several collection of garbage upon beaches is an all too common sight with devastating implication of late; this is becoming a huge issue. Of all the plastic waste from the world, 80% is just from 20 countries with china, Indonesia, India and Philipines are topping the list.

Nigeria and a few countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh and South Africa also contribute but in a considerable manner.

Nigeria is doing its best to combat this menace and the Nigerian maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is doing all it can to take tackle plastic pollutants in our waterways.

Recently, the international maritime Organization (IMO) received warning from international  scientists on the damages of this threat and the impact it has on the future life of marine organisms.

Due to this threat, the IMO has designed a plan, through a committee set aside for the purpose to strengthen existing regulations while introducing supporting measures to calm the menace especially plastic litter generated from ships. This plans which would be completed by 2025, and basically it relate to all ships and fishing vessels.

The implication of this threat of plastics waste to the maritime environment in Nigeria is enormous. Its cost to the economy is much too such beach cleaning, impacts on the fishing industry and tourism loss, not to talk of the threat to the health and productivity of marine ecosystems.

This threat is so alarming that the former director general of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside once said that “the presence of marine litter in our waters is impacting negatively on NIMASA’s strategic objectives, most notably, the drive to make Nigeria a greener and wealthier  and fairer,  safer and stronger and healthier nation”

In the same vein; the managing Director of the Nigeria Port  Authority, (NPA), ms Hadizan Balc Usman said “marine litter  poses navigational hazard to all kind of Vessels  and can result in loss of life”.

Though NIMASA is doing so much in their fight by inaugurating 120 marine litter Marshals to assist the agency rid the nations

Waterway and Oceans of marine litters and micro plastics

While inaugurating these marshal at the Nigeria maritime Resource Development center in Lagos , Dr. Dakuku charge the marshal to work hard and flush out plastic litter from our marine environment  stressing that a lot of activities are dependent on the ocean for survival.

Particular, he noted that “the state of health of the ocean is related to the state of our health and our economy. Therefore, we must stop the indiscriminate dumping of material in our ocean”

The fight against plastic waste on our ocean should not be left to the government alone. All hands must be on deck. More awareness and outreaching activities to the general public are also required to promote new behaviour related with plastic use and disposal.

Other solution must be holistic which will promote reuse and increased recycling and well run urban waste management systems. Also important is for the retail market to reduce plastic bag usage for a more environment friendly packages.