Sharjah study shows devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine life, says expert

The amount of discarded plastic found in dead seabirds in the UAE has been described as "very alarming" by a senior Greenpeace campaigner.

Farah Al Hattab, lead plastics campaigner at Greenpeace Mena, said harm to creatures such as seabirds indicated "a much deeper environmental crisis".

The new research, released by Sharjah researchers, reported that about one in eight seabirds found dead off the emirate's coast had eaten some form of marine pollutant, mostly plastic or glass, but also including oil.

"The study is very alarming and adds to the growing body of evidence on the devastating impact of plastic pollution on biodiversity," Ms Al Hattab told The National.

"Any imbalance in the ecosystem, especially involving indicator species like seabirds, signals a much deeper environmental crisis."

She said the findings of the study released last month indicated "how pervasive plastic pollution has become", adding that studies like the one just published were "a warning sign".

Carried out by scientists from the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah and the American University of Sharjah, the work is thought by the researchers to be the first in the Middle East to measure how the region’s seabirds are affected by plastic and other waste.

Hidden risks

The study’s lead author, Fadi Yaghmour, a scientific researcher at the EPAA’s Sharjah Strandings Response Programme, indicated that debris could damage the birds’ gastrointestinal tract.

“Even when the debris doesn’t cause physical damage to the tract through tears, or even if it doesn’t block the tract, as is often occurring with sheath-like plastics, the bird will feel full, satiated, even while it has not gained any nutrition from eating a piece of plastic,” he said.

The researchers analysed the contents of the gastrointestinal tracts of 478 seabirds from 17 species found dead off Sharjah’s coasts from the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2023. Birds analysed included 406 black-headed gulls, 29 large white-headed gulls and 23 Socotra cormorants.

When a sample of 20 birds was looked at as part of the same study, all contained microplastics, the tiny particles formed from the break-up of larger pieces of plastic.

More than three-quarters of the microplastic particles were microfibres, probably from laundry. These can cause scarring and inflammation of the animals' digestive tract.

Another author, Prof Fatin Samara, part of the American University of Sharjah’s recently launched Sharjah Environmental Hazards Assessment Research Group, said problems came not only from the plastic itself.

“It’s also about how microplastics can carry or attract toxic pollutants,” she said. “We’re not just examining the plastics themselves – we’re also testing for heavy metals and organic contaminants, because multiple studies have shown that microplastics can act as vectors, transporting other substances through the environment.

“What you’re dealing with is a cocktail of plastics that may also carry additional toxic chemicals on their surfaces.”

Some seabirds, such as gulls, travel inland and visit landfill sites, so not all debris that they consumed will have originated in the seas.

A key way to cut plastic pollution is, Prof Samara said, to simply reduce how much plastic is used. Promoting a more circular economy, in which material is recycled, is also important.

Of the 478 dead birds analysed in the study, 62 (or 12.8 per cent) had eaten marine debris of some kind, and 53 of those had consumed plastic or other solid debris. Eight had eaten oil or similar pollutants.

Phased bans

Levels of marine debris found in seabirds vary globally, according to data reported in the new study, with 13 per cent of gulls in the western Mediterranean found to contain marine debris, compared with 22 per cent off Ireland and 33 per cent in the North Pacific. Australian research reported that eight per cent of gulls contained marine debris.

Prof Brendan Godley, of the University of KhorFakkan’s Sharjah Marine Science Research Centre and the University of Exeter in the UK, said when seabirds ate plastic, they could regurgitate it for chicks, leading to gut damage, blockages and death. Also, if the animal is being fed plastic, it cuts the amount of actual food eaten.

“If a chick needs a lot of food to grow and survive and the parents think they’re giving a full portion but half is [not food], it’s not getting the nutrition, as well as damaging the gut and causing blockages,” he said.

The UAE authorities have tried to prevent plastic waste from entering the environment through phased bans on plastic products, with further nationwide restrictions coming into force next year.

While many camels have died in the UAE from eating plastic bags, the numbers are thought to have fallen thanks to restrictions on single-use plastic bags. Plastic is also harmful to dugongs.

Other dangers to wildlife from litter remain, with Mr Yaghmour saying seabirds continued to get caught in discarded fishing gear, years after the issue was identified.

Some of the most severe cases have involved fish hooks with lines becoming attached to birds.

A hook may be attached to a fish, Mr Yaghmour said, and when a seabird eats the fish, the hook attaches to the bird.

“That’s why several times we’ve seen birds with the hook in the beak,” he said.

One particularly distressing case involved a cormorant found hanging from a tree. The hook had become caught in the animal’s oesophagus, the pipe down which food passes, and the line attached to the hook became entangled in a tree.

Another bird could not move normally because it had hooks embedded in its beak and a foot, with a line running between them. When the animal moved its head, it pulled its foot, and vice versa.

“We see this often in cases of entanglements – the line is as dangerous as the hook. When they’re together it becomes a very potent risk,” Mr Yaghmour said.

Mr Yaghmour said fishing gear was hazardous and so should be “handled responsibly like any other material that can cause harm to people or animals”.

“The call I would give to fishermen – recreational and artisanal – is of course to respect the gear and use it responsibly. Do not use it in areas where it may latch on to substrates and get lost easily,” he said.

Ghost fishing gear

The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi is developing a programme to deal with marine debris, including large or macro debris and derelict or “ghost” fishing gear because of their "wider ecosystem impacts".

The organisation said it had upgraded its policies to follow "best international practices", particularly those from a well-regarded programme at Hawaii Pacific University.

"As a result, we have updated and enhanced our upcoming programme design to incorporate ghost gear tracking as a core component, complementing our broader marine litter and water quality initiatives," the agency said.

In the Abu Dhabi emirate, the agency said fishing hooks were used only in handline fishing or Hadaq, which prevents unattended gear from being left in the water.

“While the current risk is minimal, ongoing education and monitoring can ensure best practices are maintained,” it said.

“If handlining practices change, or incorporate baiting methods more attractive to birds, additional measures – weighted lines, bird-scaring devices – could be considered.”

The environmental agency said other actions could reduce the risk that fishing hooks posed, including bird-scaring lines to discourage birds from approaching baited hooks, setting lines at night when birds tended to be less active, and adding weights to lines so that they sank out of the reach of foraging birds.