Mercury Pollution Rises in Marine Mammals: 30-Year Study Shows Startling Trend

A study of 738 UK coastal Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) stranded between 1990 and 2021 found mercury levels rising by about 1% a year — nearly doubling since the early 1990s. Animals with higher mercury burdens had a significantly elevated risk of dying from infectious disease, underscoring how ocean contamination persists despite the Minamata Convention on Mercury aimed at curbing mercury pollution.

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