Effects of Ocean Dumping on a Temperate Midshelf Environment

Lear, Donald W.; O'Malley, Marria L.; Smith, Sherrie

doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-3905-2_25

Cited by 1 publication

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“…A large portion (~71%) of the Earth's surface is covered with water, and until the 1970s, most toxic wastes were discarded in the oceans (Lumsdaine 1975) with little understanding of the true negative impacts of such actions. The most common assumption was that the ocean had an unlimited capacity to mix and disperse debris and substances; therefore, after years of uncontrolled dumping, the first effects began to emerge in the 1980s (Lear et al 1981;Messieh et al 1991). This led to conventions and international agreements for the protection of the marine environment from human activities and for the production, use, and disposal of toxic substances (Craig 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the conservation status of Chondrichthyans: underestimation of the pollution threat

Consales

Marsili

2021

The European Zoological Journal

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Cartilaginous fish include sharks, rays, skates, sawfish, and chimaeras. Their habitat ranges from shallow coastal waters to deep ocean floors, estuarine areas as well as rivers and inland waters. Overfishing is considered to be the main threat to their existence, but there are many more stressors that these species face. Pollution is an issue that concerns aquatic organisms at every level, and Chondrichthyans are no exception. Here, we looked at their IUCN Red List assessment, and noticed a lack of information regarding anthropogenic contamination for these species. Out of 1124 cartilaginous fish species assessed, only 17 Selachimorpha and 32 Batoidea species were considered to be facing a "pollution threat"; in most cases, the threat was assigned not from direct ecotoxicological studies of the specimens, but because the species inhabited areas likely to be contaminated. An update on the conservation status of these species is urgently needed. Further, there is a fundamental need to study the effects of contaminants on Chondrichthyans as they play a key role in aquatic ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%