Australia's national scientific agency will join representatives from across the globe to take part in the "world's largest" marine pollution survey in an effort to assess and reduce pollution levels in oceans.

Announcing the project in a statement on Thursday, Dr. Denise Hardesty of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization’s (CSIRO) said representatives from nations including China, Indonesia, Vietnam, the United States, and Bangladesh would all be involved in the survey, aimed at collecting more modern and "hard numbers" on the levels of rubbish in the oceans. 

CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, is Australia’s national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world. /CSIRO Photo

"Up until now, we've been relying on estimates from 2010 World Bank data, so this will be the first time anyone has brought together a group of countries to look at exactly how much litter is entering the oceans," Hardesty said.

"We will be able to see where the hot spots lie by looking at how people, wind, the shape of the land and storm water moves rubbish into the ocean and then give advice on how to improve this based on science-based interventions."

She said that by targeting hot spots, the researchers could come up with ways to reduce the amount of litter entering the oceans, namely near storm water drains and busy beachside areas.

Litter scattered on a beach /VCG Photo

"We know that almost all litter starts off in someone's hand, and from there it finds it way from land to the ocean, where it breaks up into smaller pieces," Hardesty said.

"This means if we can stop the rubbish from entering the ocean, we can make real headway in resolving the problem."

"Along with causing marine and environmental problems, things like plastic bags can also cause storm water drains to become blocked, leading to significant localized flooding and serious health risks for local people."

Hardesty said representatives from five of the partner nations will meet in South Korea next week for what she said would be the survey project's first training workshop.

(Source: Xinhua)

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