Animal populations appear to decrease where the deep sea is being mined, and the impact on marine life of the controversial industry may involve a wider “footprint” than previously expected.
According to analysis of seabed ecology undertaken after drilling tests in 2020 in Japan – the country’s first successful extraction of cobalt crusts from deep-sea mountains – there was a decrease in marine life such as fish and shrimp at the site a year later. The density had dropped even further in areas outside the impact zone, by more than half.
Travis Washburn, an ecologist who works with the Geological Survey of Japan and was the lead author of the study, published in Current Biology, said the findings had “large implications” for decision-makers negotiating regulations on proposals for deep-sea mining.
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