Plastic Nurdle Spill Threatens 'Malabar' Upwelling Region

The sinking of the Liberian-flagged MSC ELSA 3 off the Kochi coast in Kerala on May 25, has triggered an environmental crisis along the Kerala and Tamil Nadu coast because it spilled plastic nurdles—tiny pellets used in plastic manufacturing—into one of the world's richest 'Malabar' upwelling regions.

- S V Krishna Chaitanya @Chennai

Upwelling brings deep, cold water to the surface, propelled as they are by strong ocean currents and the rotation of the Earth.

There are five major upwelling regions determined by seasonal ocean current upwelling systems—the Canary, Benguela, California, Peru and Malabar. The Malabar Upwelling Region (MUR) stretches from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. Although these regions form less than 1% of the world's oceans, they contribute to more than 25% of fish catch. Each supports a rich ecosystem and commercially important fisheries. These large marine ecosystems are increasingly under threat from overexploitation, pollution and habitat modifications.

The Kochi plastic nurdle spill falls bang in the middle of MUR. Carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous materials, the shipwreck scattered nurdles onto beaches from Thiruvananthapuram to Kanniyakumari, threatening one of India's most biodiverse marine ecosystems. This marks the first major nurdle spill in India caused by a shipwreck, raising urgent concerns about ecological and economic repercussions.