A new study reveals that deep sea mining for minerals like copper and zinc threatens zooplankton, critical to the marine food web, impacting global fisheries.
- The study, published in Nature Communications, highlights how mining for manganese nodules in the Pacific Ocean disrupts sediment and threatens tiny marine organisms such as zooplankton.
- Deep sea mining operations, aimed at extracting valuable minerals, could lead to the decline of key species like shrimp and fish, affecting entire ocean ecosystems.
- As nations pursue deep sea mining to meet rising demand for essential metal in electric vehicles, the potential impact on global fishery stocks raises serious sustainability concerns.
Por Qué Es Relevante
This research underscores the urgent need to balance resource extraction with ecological preservation, as the decline of zooplankton and other critical species could disrupt the entire marine food web. Protecting these ecosystems is vital for sustaining global fisheries and food security.