Effects of Marine pollution on the blue economy along the coast of the selected Caribbean countries

Effects of Marine pollution on the blue economy along the coast of the selected Caribbean countries

Introduction

The blue economy concept reflects on the ecosystem that gives several services attributed to the ocean economy. Oceans offer economic activities such as fishing, shipping, and tourism, among others. Empirical evidence by (Matthews 2009)  has shown there is pollution in our oceans. Still, they have not shown its impact on marine economic activities along the Caribbean coastlines where by waste products disposed from households end up in oceans. Due to ocean waves, they end up settling along the coastlines. Therefore, pollution as an externality could lead to loss in value of economic products given by the oceans in particular countries and to the worldwide economy at large, which forms my basis of this study.

This study aims to analyze the relationship between pollution and economic activities along the Caribbean coast, whereby we will examine the effect of marine pollution on fishing, the effect of marine pollution on shipping, and the effect of marine pollution on tourism.

The study will use secondary data from various publications on the subject matter, which will be calculated using statistical inferences such as mean and mode where applicable. The presentation of data will be in the form of tables and figures. Then through the guidance of my lecturers, it will be published to enlighten governments and other stakeholders at large globally.

Data Analysis

Table.1 Litter found in coastal cleanups in selected Caribbean countries

Let kilometer of coast surveyed is our frequency (f), and our litter concentration per kilometer is our (x) values.

There is a mean value of 3512.652174, which means that there is 3512 items of litter, that plastic beverage bottles, plastic bottle caps, plastic grocery bags, plastic lids, straws, and food foam

There is a variance of 1794422.989, which is quit a high value, and this means there is a great spread of litter along the coastline of the Caribbean.

Standard Deviation is 1339.560745, which is also high, which means there a wide spread of data from the mean. This also depicts how much litter is spread out along the Caribbean coast.

The range will not be an appropriate measure in this study since it is only suitable for small data sets, while this is a big data set.

Discussion and conclusion

From the above data and analysis, there is an outstanding amount of uncollected household waste that ends being disposed of in waterways. Finally, they end along the coastal lines of the Caribbean.

Waste that gets into the marine ecosystem has effects before it even gets into the main water body. Waste can cause flooding as a result of blocked drainage systems. This is caused by dumped bottles and plastic bags from households within the countries along the Caribbean coast. It is also a habitat for pests and mosquitoes. All this also leads to an outbreak of diseases as mosquitoes spread out to densely populated areas along the coast. As a result, the supply of labor to the coastal establishment is also affected, leading to reduced economic activities along the coast (UNDP 2017).

Schumann et al. (2017) documented that among the tourism preference was clear water, healthy coral reefs, and high-quality beaches, which by the results above seem not to exist. This means that the tourism industry is profoundly affected along the coast of the Caribbean countries.

A good number of marine species have been documented to have died due to marine waste (Lusher et al. 2017). Plastics have been established to cause death on marine species, injury stranding, among others. Also, litter has caused species to move beyond their marine ranges, affecting the marine ecosystem.

In conclusion, the government of the countries which are located along the along the coastal lines of the Caribbean, should consider the following recommendation to avert future destruction of the marine and its economy at large.

From the above data, it’s evident that most litter found along the coast is plastic. Therefore the use of plastics along the coastal countries should be banned, and alternative synthetic bags to be used by citizens to avoid this nature of marine pollution. Also, there is evidence that there is uncontrolled litter disposal in these countries along the Caribbean. Therefore governments should ensure that there are policies that govern waste disposal by these countries within the Caribbean coastline.

Further research should also be conducted on the impact of financial resources and technical capacity on marine pollution to have enough literature to support the blue economy along the coastal line.

List of references

Lusher, A.L., P.C.H. Hollman, and J.J. Mendoza-Hill. 2017. “Microplastics in Fisheries and Aquaculture: Status of Knowledge on their Occurrence and Implications for Aquatic Organisms and Food Safety.” FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 615. Rome, Italy.

Schumann, P., R. Skeete, and R. Waite. 2017. “The Economic Importance of Coastal and Marine Resources to Tourism in Barbados.” Report by the Caribbean Tourism Organization and University of North Carolina, Wilmington. 41 pp.

Matthews, T.R. 2009. “Assessing Opinions on Abandoned, Lost, or Discarded Fishing Gear in the Caribbean.” Final Report to U.S. Department of State. Assessment of Derelict Fishing Gear in the Caribbean, submitted by B. Glazer. Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute.

Ocean Conservancy. 2017. “Together for Our Ocean: International Coastal Cleanup 2017 Report.” https://oceanconservancy.org/ wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2017-ICC_Report_RM.pdf.