Many times more trash with Iceland
The amount of trash on the seabed around Iceland can be four times more than on the coast of Norway. This can be read from a new report by the Norwegian Maritime Research Institute, which is called: “Debris on the seabed off Iceland: Summary of the registration of debris during the mapping of habitats on the seabed 2004-2019”.
“A total of 272 pieces of trash were found in 13 out of 21 areas in the years 2010-2019. The calculated average density of debris was 872 units km2,” says the report published on the organization’s website. This is a much higher average density than on the coast of Norway, where it is considered 230 units of trash per square kilometer and 200 units of trash per square kilometer on the continental shelf in Europe.
It is stated that since 2004, various areas on the seabed have been created due to habitat mapping. Fishing areas in the south and west of the country and two areas in the north of the country have been photographed and digital cameras are used on a remote-controlled underwater deep-sea probe (ROV) or a three-legged steel frame that is towed behind the ship. During the processing of the footage, rubbish has inevitably been found and it has been recorded and the report gives an overview of the distribution and amount of rubbish that has been found on the seabed near the land in this way.
Most on the Reykjanes ridge
In the years 2010 to 2019, the most trash was found in the south of the country. “Reykjaneshryggur had the highest amount and density of litter, or 151 litter units with a density of 5,094 units km‐2. There was also considerable litter in Lónsdjúp and Skeiðárðúp, or 49 and 10 units, with a density of 1,361 and 1,469 litter units km‐2. In Breiðamerkurdjúpi, Háfadjúpi, Kátlugrunn and Reynisdjúpi, the density of litter was between 600-1024 litter units km-2. Less than 300 units km‐2 were found in Hornafjarðardjúp, Jökul‐ and Faxadjúp, Kolluál, Selvogsbanki and Víkurál.
Then no litter was found in eight out of twenty areas during the period, i.e. in Djúpála, Deildargrunn, Hornbanki, Kolbeinseyjarrhygg, Látragrunn, Papagrunn, Patreksfjörður, Selvogsbanki and Skaftárdjúpi.
92.2% plastic
A total of 94.1% of the trash found was fishing gear, most of which was fishing line or 80.5%. General waste such as plastic bags, plastic film and tins made up only 5.9% of what was found.
“If it is assumed that fishing lines, trawl nets, ropes and banding pots are made of plastic, then the total amount of plastic found here is 92.2% of the trash. [ …] “Most modern fishing gear is made of strong plastics and takes a very long time to break down, so the amount of fishing gear on the seabed will only increase and remain there for many years,” says the report.
It is also said that lines and trawl nets were found entangled in, around or among coral and rocks. “Lines and trawl nets can damage sensitive habitats such as coral reefs which can take a long time to recover from damage as corals are slow growing,” the report said.
Continues to accumulate in the ocean
“It’s clear that more areas on the seabed need to be photographed and better explored where debris can be found around the country. Until now, only a fraction of the seabed within Iceland’s exclusive economic zone has been photographed, but it is clear that the images give a valuable view of the situation on the seabed,” write the authors of the report.
Do they think it is obvious that there is a need to limit the amount of trash that ends up in the ocean and protect sensitive habitats.
“Until solutions are developed for this huge problem that is man-made litter, it will continue to accumulate in large quantities in the oceans.” Little is still known about the fate and effects of litter in the ocean, and further research is therefore being conducted into where litter accumulates and how it affects ecosystems in the ocean, as well as examining the interaction between fishing pressure and litter on the seabed,” says the end of the report.