Researchers from the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai visited the Nicobar islands and found mounds of marine debris washed up on the eastern shores of the island of Great Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal. The marine debris was of such great amount that it could not have been generated locally by the small number of islanders of the Nicobars.

Marine debris, consisting mainly of plastics, pose a danger to the local leatherback turtles and their hatchlings. The turtles might ingest them and choke or be poisoned by the debris. Furthermore, said the researchers, marine debris could carry invasive species such as small crustaceans, algae, plankton and fungi that the local flora and fauna might not be able to cope with.

Although no assessment of the debris had been published, mapping of surface currents showed that the debris had been brought from nearby countries Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The currents from Malaysia flow north up the Malacca Straits and merge with the South Equatorial Gyre that travels as far west as the coast of Africa.

The research findings, published in Current Science Journal #5, Vol 85, was part of a national programme for the Coastal Monitoring and Prediction System.