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26 July 2006

Fish apartment block

by Roger onboard the Rainbow Warrior in the Mediterranean sea.


A five-star apartment on the seabed
©Greenpeace/Roger Grace
People have thrown their junk in the sea for hundreds of years. Before modern times most of this stuff was not a big problem - stone jars and pottery, or degradable materials like wood. Most of it either rotted away harmlessly or became incorporated into the rock and sediment of the seabed. But modern rubbish is mostly plastic, or even worse nasty invisible chemicals which create biological havoc of a new kind. This is marine pollution on a different scale, bad enough to cause lots of damage to the ecology of the sea, and something Greenpeace is fighting against in its effort to Save the Mediterranean.
Not all modern rubbish is entirely nasty. Occasionally we find an example of modern rubbish that has provided an opportunity for marine animals - a new little piece of habitat to occupy - and sometimes these examples have a humorous side. I want to share with you this little gem I found on a recent dive. A discarded brick has provided an enterprising little fish, a topknot blenny, with a five-star apartment on the seabed, where he can sit on his balcony and watch the world go by.

   

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Comments

Ah, that is so cute :-) x

Posted by: Jodie at July 26, 2006 11:31 AM

But then isn't a brick simply the same as pottery and so isn't really modern rubbish full of chemicals that pollute and are not biodegradable?

Posted by: Tony at July 31, 2006 12:59 AM

Avast ye land lubbers! The ocean critters need your help!
Take action today!