Why does the mediterranean sea suffer from pollution

Plastic polluted beaches are discouraging tourism and hampering the livelihood of people of the Mediterranean region. Apart from economic loss, environmental and human health risks associated with microplastics and their bound toxic co-contaminants and pathogenic microorganisms are also a great concern. The risks coming from the chemicals associated with microplastics are difficult to illustrate because very few research studies have been done so far globally on this topic.

The toxicity of these chemicals also depends on shape and size and thus detailed research is required to characterize these compounds. In addition to that, the increased bioaccumulation potential of these chemicals has laid toxicological effects on the marine environment and also on human health through the food chain. Therefore, the identification of these toxic additives is very crucial, and advanced molecular techniques must be employed to solve this issue.

The concern of the plastisphere is also very alarming in the Mediterranean Sea as biotransformation and modification of plastic debris by co-contaminants and microorganisms posed a great threat to the marine biota and thus this problem demands immediate actions.

The multi-omics technology may play an important part in this regard by decoding the pathways of such biotransformations and modifications. SS: writing — review, editing, and data curation. VS: writing — review and editing. SC: conceptualization, writing — review, editing, and overall supervision of the work.

All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Authors are thankful to the reviewers for their input on the initial version of the manuscript; it has substantially improved the quality of the review. Abidli, S. Microplastics in sediments from the littoral zone of the north Tunisian coast Mediterranean Sea. Shelf Sci. Joint measures to preserve natural ecosystems from marine litter in Mediterranean Protected Areas.

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The annual Thunnus alalunga catch in the Mediterranean is variable, but in it amounted to tonnes, with Italy being the main producer at tonnes [].

In , F. Karakulak et al. These plastics could be labelled as meso and macroplastics. At the time, the presence of MP was not documented.

In , a number of studies were forwarded regarding MP ingestion in these fish, where the percentage of fish with MP was recorded at In addition to B. Most studied is the common pandora Pagellus erythrinus.

The annual worldwide production of the common pandora decreased from about 10, tonnes to tonnes []. The species is overexploited in several Mediterranean subareas.

Other seabream species that were studied are the black seabream Spondyliosoma cantharus , the white seabream Diplodus sargus , the striped seabream Lithognathus mormyrus , the axillary seabream Pagellus acarne the blackspot bream Pagellus bogaraveo , the gilt-head bream Sparus aurata and the red porgy Pagrus pagrus. All these species show heavy MP ingestion. Finally, MP ingestion of the common sole Solea solea , a demersal species, a commercially important fish with catches worldwide amounting to 33, tonnes FAO Fishfinder, species fact sheets, Solea solea and with catches in the Adriatic Sea Italy, Croatia, Slovenia equaling tonnes in [], has been studied a number of times in the Adriatic Sea.

Looking at the elasmobranch fish, sharks, many species of which are endangered [], have been investigated extensively for MP content. In the Mediterranean Sea, elasmobranch fish catches make up only 1. Additionally, the catches show a decreasing trend from 26, tons in to 14, tons in []. Among the elasmobranch fish, the velvet belly lanternshark Etmopterus spinax has been one of the most studied in the Mediterranean Sea in regard to MP content [] [] [] [].

Although the species is of no commercial importance per se, it is often found in bycatch, especially in deepwater fishing operations. Here, MP findings are heterogeneous, where a number of studies have reported low MP ingestion rates for this shark species [] []. Nevertheless, of 34 specimen of the velvet belly lanternshark from the Tyrrhenian Sea, 21 The blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus , a fish of limited commercial value within the Mediterranean region, is another species that has been thoroughly investigated for MP contamination [] [] [] [] [].

Figure 2. Sampling sites for different fish species for microplastic content screening. Two reports [] [], from and , noted that about 3. Later studies of the time period [] [] reported higher ingestion rates in the blackmouth catshark from the Balearic Islands and from Thyrrenean Sea. Of more value for deepwater commercial fisheries is the Portuguese dogfish Centroscymnus coelolepis , which is prized for its oil. For this species, two studies found little to no MP ingestion [] []. The spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias is globally one of the more common shark species, however, in the Western Mediterranean it is quite rare.

It is more common in the Eastern Mediterranean and also in the Black Sea, where it is fished commercially. Nevertheless, in the Mediterranean Sea the species is seen as endangered. A study of from the East Ionian Sea showed no MP ingestion in 10 spiny dogfish, a study of found MP in 4 out of the 9 spiny dogfish examined []. The small spotted catshark Scyliorhynus canicula is one of the most abundant sharks in the Mediterranean, but is of limited commercial value in the Mediterranean region.

Two studies [] [], both from the Thyrrenian Sea, with 12 and 30 specimen, respectively, showed appreciable MP contamination in this species. Overall, the published data on MP content in fish of the Mediterranean Sea is quite heterogeneous. Keeping in mind that most of the data stems from and that therefore the research area is still rather novel, having been previously focused on meso- and macroplastic ingestion, and that the research methodology has been refined over the years, early data [] [] often shows relatively little MP ingestion.

Otherwise, there are areas within the Mediterranean where fish during the time of the study showed less MP ingestion. A typical example comes from the species B.

Fish in neighboring locations within the same general region may give completely different data [], see above. There is an indication that deep sea catches show less MP content, though some of the data come from the early years of study see above. Also, seasonal variations in currents and waste discharges can bring about significant differences in MP content along the water column as isolated events such as ship wrecks [] or ships losing cargo en route. For litter in general, Vlachogianni et al.

What danger MP containing fish represent to humans is debatable, as with the gutting of fish most MP content is avoided. As fish meal also constitutes the offal of fish, the risk to utilize parts of the fish that hold MP is quite high []. To curb the increase in MP in the Mediterranean Sea, it is important to limit the entry of plastics in general by a better waste management at the community level, especially in the larger cities on the Mediterranean coast.

Certain contributors to primary MP such as microbeads in cosmetics will be phased out in the near future and will no longer be of importance, others such as textile fibers and microtires will remain contributors to MP in general, although microtires specifically have not been recorded in fish to date.

More important will be secondary MP resulting from the gradual breakdown of the overall solid plastic waste entering the Mediterranean Sea. Even without the introduction of additional plastic waste, secondary MP will remain with us for an indeterminable time in the future due to the long half-life of plastic materials, much of which will lastly degrade by passing through MP stages. The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper. Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 12, Atmospheric Environment, , Article ID: Nature Communications, 12, Article No.

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Discover life beneath the ocean. Fighting to protect marine biodiversity from pollution Discover our commitments and climate research. Learning more about biodiversity to help better protect it Discover our commitments and research for the Arctic. Our partners. That fallout might only accelerate if major gas-pipeline infrastructure is approved as the European Union looks to wean itself from its dependence on Russia.

Above all, environmentalists and officials alike fear that the extensive naval buildups accompanying gas-field development will shut out environmental concerns while turning the region into even more of a powder keg.

Turkey has transformed itself into a powerful maritime presence , pursuing a strategy that many of its neighbors see as an attempt to dominate the eastern Med.

Egypt and Israel have also boosted their capabilities, in large part to guard their gas fields. Russia recently conducted its largest naval exercise in the Med since the Cold War, just as the United States is ramping up operations after decades of treating the region as something of an irrelevance. Even Iran and China might be muscling in: The former has been granted part of the port of Latakia, in Syria; the latter has invested heavily in the region as part of its Belt and Road initiative and controls a string of major Med ports, including Piraeus.

Though the chances of a clash are slim, the threat of one has been enough to freeze cross-border cooperation. Their peers from Egypt to Libya and beyond report increased state harassment. As the region subdivides itself into loose new alliances, with Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Cyprus in one camp, and now Turkey and Libya in another, conservation efforts are falling further and further down the agenda.

Seas can take a lot of punishment without exhibiting the hurt, and that might be part of the problem.