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Plastic rocks are threatening wildlife on Brazil’s easternmost island — I’m studying how

Geologist Fernanda Avelar Santos finds that fishing gear and packaging are creating a new type of pollution.
  1. Virginia Gewin

    1. Virginia Gewin is a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon.

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Fernanda Avelar Santos studies plastic rocks on a lab bench

Fernanda Avelar Santos finished her PhD in geology at the Federal University of Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil, in March 2023. Credit: Rodrigo Fonseca/AFP via Getty

I made my fourth visit to Trindade Island in the South Atlantic Ocean — Brazil’s easternmost point — in October 2022. The island is one of the most important conservation spots in the world for marine life, including green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), birds and coral reefs, and it’s home to volcanic rock outcrops. But the ocean currents bring litter, such as fishing gear and plastic packaging.

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Nature 620, 238 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02448-1

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