Chennai-based institute works on National Marine Litter Policy to save oceans from plastic

CHENNAI: The Union government is preparing a National Marine Litter Policy to prevent flow of plastics and microplastics into oceans, as they pose a severe threat to the environment and ocean life.

The draft policy has been prepared by the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Chennai, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The policy would include strategies like proper implementation of the ban against single-use plastics, ensuring manufacturers adhere to the norms of extended producers responsibility (EPR) rules, and recycling of plastic items.

Pravakar Mishra, former NCCR scientist, said that the policy has proposed targets and strategies to prevent marine litter. "Most of the plastics waste goes to the oceans. A study says that by 2050 the weight of the marine litter in oceans will equal the total mass of all fishes in the ocean. Around 1,000 rivers in the world transport most of plastic into the seas," he added at the World Environment Day symposium organised by the Hand IN Hand India organisation in Chennai on Monday.

Mishra added that 82 per cent of the marine litter are carried to the ocean by rivers, while remaining are from coastal activities. Around 88 per cent of the litter float and 12 per cent sink to the ocean bed.

Marine litter, especially microplastics, also contributes to global warming and climate change. By trapping heat, microplastics increases the sea surface temperature and rise in sea level temperature result in more severe cyclones.

As a part of the preparation of the policy, the NCCR studied temporal and spatial distribution of marine litter along the Indian coast and adjacent seas and map distribution of marine litter. Between 2017 and 2023, NCCR conducted clean-up events, beach litter data collection and characterisation at 190 beaches. During the exercise, around 150 tonnes of beach litter were removed.

A recent study it conducted found an average concentration of 53,000 particles per sqkm in the water, and between 110 and 308 particles per kilogram of sediment. More than 50 per cent of the particles were less than 1mm in size, making them easily indigestible by fish and other aquatic lifeforms.

As a part of actions against marine litter, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has taken up research to understand the effect of different types of polymers (microplastics) on fisheries and biota, and to estimate the level of contamination.