Marine mercury pollution

Mercury contamination in sea and sediments

Mercury is a heavy metal that cycles through the atmosphere, water, and soil in various forms to different parts of the world. Due to this natural mercury cycle, irrespective of which part of the world releases mercury it could affect an entirely different part of the world making mercury pollution a global concern. Mercury pollution is now identified as a global problem and awareness has been raised on an international action plan to minimize anthropogenic mercury emissions and clean up mercury pollution. The 2002 Global Mercury Assessment concluded that "International actions to address the global mercury problem should not be delayed". Among many environments that are under the impact of mercury pollution, the ocean is one which cannot be neglected as it has the ability to act as a "storage closet" for mercury. According to a recent model study the total anthropogenic mercury released into the ocean is estimated to be around 80,000 to 45,000 metric tons and two-thirds of this amount is estimated to be found in waters shallower than 1000m level where much consumable fish live. Mercury can bioaccumulate in marine food chains in the form of highly toxic methylmercury which can cause health risks to human seafood consumers. According to statistics, about 66% of global fish consumption comes from the ocean. Therefore, it is important to monitor and regulate oceanic mercury levels to prevent more and more mercury from reaching the human population through seafood consumption.

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