Removing marine plastic litter is costly for small island states

Removing all of the plastic litter from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Aldabra Atoll—a ring of islands formed from coral reef in the Seychelles—would cost US $4.68 million and require 18,000 hours of labour, according to a study in Scientific Reports.

How China’s Expanding Fishing Fleet Is Depleting the World’s Oceans

After exhausting areas close to home, China’s vast fishing fleet has moved into the waters of other nations, depleting fish stocks. More than seafood is at stake, as China looks to assert itself on the seas and further its geo-political ambitions, from East Asia to Latin America.

The widespread footprint of blue jean microfibers

Researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters have detected indigo denim microfibers not only in wastewater effluent, but also in lakes and remote Arctic marine sediments.