Antarctica’s Sea Floor Is Facing Severe Damage by the Weight of Tourism and Ships
While the growing tourism industry is often seen as a good sign for connecting people to nature, it can also place immense pressure on the natural gems located across the world. A few examples of human-driven damage to the natural ecosystem include coral reefs harmed by irresponsible divers and mountain trails being damaged by constant foot traffic. Another such issue was highlighted after a newly released video from Antarctica revealed how the sea floor at Yankee Harbor is being damaged by the ship anchors and chains. It raises immediate concern over the growing impact of tourism even in the fragile parts of the natural world.
Matthew Mulrennan, one of the lead authors of the study published by the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science, and a marine scientist, was searching the Antarctic waters to capture rare footage of the colossal squid, but his camera instead captured a troubling sight at the ocean floor. The video clip shows how ship anchors and chains scrape the sea floor, leaving scars, grooves, and piles of mud. The situation is even more concerning as these damaged spots did not support any kind of marine life, with just a few broken sponges left behind, as reported by IFLScience.
Mulrennan spoke about this and said, "You could clearly see this delineation between where there was abundant marine life and where the chain and anchor had disrupted the sea floor.” In 2023, while on a tourist ship in Antarctica, Mulrennan captured the footage and shared it with another marine expert, Sally Watson, in New Zealand. She confirmed that the marks on the sea floor were from anchors and chains. Both experts then warned that research, fishing, and tourism vessels may be the reason behind the damage caused to the fragile ecosystem, as reported by ABC News.
Moving ahead, Mulrennan revealed, “The observed damage was a near miss to three giant volcano sponges, believed to be the oldest animals on the planet, which may live up to 15,000 years.” He added, “The weird and wonderful animals that are impacted, like sponges, are important for filtering water, carbon sequestration, and providing shelter, food, and complex habitats which benefit the whole marine ecosystem, including penguins and seals – the animals tourists come to see.” While anchors can crush marine life where they drop, the real harm is often caused by the heavy chains, which drag across the seabed and scrape everything in their path.
However, one point to be noted is that Mulrennan checked around 36 Antarctic sites, and only Yankee Harbor showed anchor damage. Meanwhile, these negative impacts are a fairly recent trend, as Antarctica, which was once visited only rarely, is now seeing a steady surge in human activity. Tourist ships arrive in huge numbers every year, bringing more visitors. At the same time, scientific expeditions and fishing operations have also expanded recently, adding to the traffic in these regions. It was reported that in just the 2022–23 season, at least 195 ships anchored in the Antarctic waters. Officials have also constantly warned that numerous unlicensed and unregulated vessels may also be navigating the area.
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