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The threat, some argue, with the Ocean Cleanup is not so much to "traditional", underwater fish, but rather to an obscure floating type of species known as the neuston [1]. Marine biologists are warning about the impact of the OC on this species because so little is understood of their value to marine life.

[1] The entry is very short on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleuston#Neuston

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The Ocean Cleanup's analysis of neuston: https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/the-ocean-cleanup-and-th...

I've heard that argument before, and my reaction then and now is: use this opportunity to study the impact of the neuston on other marine life, and the impact of the ocean cleanup on the neuston.

Saying "we don't know, so we shouldn't do anything" is not productive. We know that all that plastic in the ocean is harmful for some marine life, so we clean it up. You can't postpone all action until you know every possible variable, because you never will. Instead, investigate the neuston, investigate the impact of this cleanup, and re-evaluate after we have more data.

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