Fishing waste is choking marine wildlife, threatening human health in Argentina's Patagonia By Reuters
Written by Miguel Lo Bianco
VALDES PENINSULA, Argentina (Reuters) – Mountains of plastic waste from the fishing industry have washed ashore along the Valdes Peninsula in Argentina's Patagonia, endangering the lives of sea lions, fish, penguins and whales and also endangering human health.
The coast of the peninsula on the Argentine coast of Argentina, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its natural beauty, is full of crates, nets, buoys and other fishing tools that are thrown into the sea and washed ashore.
“These plastics are made of chemicals and pollutants that can cause many diseases in humans and marine animals,” said Diego Gonzalez, a biologist who studies industrial fishing waste.
Reuters reporters filmed animal carcasses decomposing among piles of trash on the shores of Pico Sayago, while other attackers continued to rummage through the trash.
The Valdes Peninsula, 1,000 kilometers south of Buenos Aires, is one of the most visited places in the country. It is also a marine mammal sanctuary and home to large populations of right whales as well as elephant seals, sea lions and penguins.
Gonzalez, from the national scientific research organization, CONICET, said there could be long-term concerns as plastics break down in the ocean.
“Because of the currents, the sun or even the passage of time, these plastics can break down into microplastics,” said Gonzalez.
So-called microplastics can then be ingested by marine animals, and later, by humans, he explained.
The amount of plastic debris flowing into the ocean and suffocating marine life could triple in the next 20 years unless companies and governments take major steps to end dumping, according to a 2020 study by the Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ.
