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With the help of marine genetic resources such as corals, bacteria, deep sea creatures, seaweed, and more, scientists can create antibiotics, drugs for viral infections, and even develop treatments for cancer. Organisms that reside at the sea floor have evolved to survive in tough conditions, making them ideal sources for unique chemicals for medicinal use. Onn top of the amazing benefits we get in the medical world, we also gain a lot in the technological world. For example, manganese, cobalt, and nickel are all essential metals found in little nodules at the sea floor. They are used to create batteries that can be recharged, placed in tv remotes, in laptops, and almost any other every day item you can think of. Resources are limited and such materials can be scarce on the surface, so mining it from the sea floor may increase as time pushes forward.
The issue with taking from these deep sea environments is that we harm them for our own benefit. Marine ecosystems are already at risk with global warming and pollution, so destroying their habitats to take the materials we need only adds to their suffering. The reason we must treat these ewcosystems with caution is due to their slow regrowth abilities. They cannot recover as quickly as we do from diseases or injuries(Ciesielczuk, J., & Kirk, E. A. 2022). While we do not know the extent of the harm that deep sea floor mining causes, we know for sure that the results aren't ideal. While exploring the institutional and policy frameworks, Van Zyl and Myles emphasize that, "The risk to genetic diversity will vary by species, depending on the extent to which species' populations are structured at fine scales."(Van Zyl, C., & Myles, P.B. 2022). On top of the environmental issues it may cause, mining the sea floor can also be extremely expensive and if the project goes south, then more money will be lost than gained. For some companies, it may not even be worth the risk.