More micro plastics on continental shelf

Scientists have found that microplastic pollution is increasing on the Irish continental shelf, one of the largest seabed territories in Europe.

The continental shelf is the extension of a state’s territorial waters. It is an area of seabed where the sea is relatively shallow compared with the open ocean.

Researchers from NUI Galway found that microplastic contamination was present along the western Irish continental shelf, regardless of proximity to densely populated areas.