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Scientists examined 125,000 corals across the Asia-Pacific region, home to half the world’s reefs, and found 89% of those fouled by plastic were suffering disease. On plastic-free reefs, 4% of the corals were diseased.
The work is highly significant because it is the first to examine the impact of plastic on disease in any marine organism and also the first to produce a large-scale estimate of how much plastic pollutes the sea floor.
At least 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in the ocean every year. Microplastics, formed when plastics are broken up, can be mistaken for food by sea creatures.