Deep-Sea Mining Would Devastate Ocean Life, DFO Scientist Warns - The Tyee

Listen to this article 12 min Deep-sea mining will cause more damage to the oceans than climate change, pollution, ocean acidification, global warming and oil spills combined, said Cherisse Du Preez, head of deepwater ecology at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Life in the deep sea is silent and slow-moving and adapts on geological time scales, she said. Sponges form living reefs 10,000 years old, sharks can live to 600 years old and rockfish can live more than 200 years. Therefore, deep-sea creatures will never adapt to or outrun the effects of deep-sea mining, she said, adding that “there are…