The Brief Summary of findings of the ‘Dr Fridtjof Nansen’ eco system survey of Sri Lanka 2018 was handed over to the State Minister of Fisheries Dilip Wedarachchi at the brief function held today at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute.
Speaking to the media, State Minister Wedaarachchi said that the eco system survey was successfully carried out and provided a wealth of new data on the marine shelf and slope ecosystem off Sri Lanka.
Data collected during the survey included physical and chemical oceanography, plastic pollution, plankton distribution and abundance, pelagic and demersal fish biomass, distribution and diversity and distribution of marine mammals around Sri Lanka.
The study has revealed that the waters around Sri Lanka are contaminated with micro plastics and the vast majority of micro plastics found are in secondary category, indicating that the packaging material, industrial applications and fishing gear are major sources. The highest concentrations were found in off North Western region Sri Lanka.