Scientists warn that offshore mining could disrupt the marine food chain.
Scientists from the University of Hawaii in the US examined the impact of ocean and sea mining on the food chain.
In this study, scientists examined water and waste in the so-called “twilight zone” of the Pacific Ocean, located at a depth of 200 to 1,500 meters below sea level, where Mining operations began in 2022.
In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, scientists noted that mining waste can affect anything from shrimp less than 2 millimeters long to fish 5 centimeters long.
The scientists highlighted that after extracting mineral-rich materials to the surface, mining operations leave dirt and sediment on the ocean floor, resulting in zooplankton that make up The second link in the marine food chain is not getting enough nutrition, which negatively impacts all other marine organisms.
The research team, which includes oceanography master’s student Michael Dowd, pointed out that marine organisms, including fish, feed on zooplankton: “If these deep-dwelling organisms were to disappear due to food chain disruption, it could impact higher food chains and commercial interests.”
Marine biologist and University of California researcher Diva Amon commented on the study: “All of these can lead to species disease, migration, mortality and, depending on the scale, more serious consequences such as species extinction.”
Offshore mining is the drilling of the seabed to discover valuable minerals and metals.