Oil spills can cause huge damage to the marine environment, but are responsible for about 12% of the oil entering the ocean every year. According to the US National Research Council, about 36% of oil entering the seas come from drains and rivers as waste/runoff from cities and industry.
Fertilizers
Fertilizer runoff from lawns and farms is considered a large problem for coastal areas. The extra nutrients tend to cause eutrophication, which is the flourishing of algal blooms that deplete the water's dissolved oxygen and often suffocates other marine life
Pesticides and Herbicides
Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of herbicides reach a destination other than their target species, because they are sprayed and spread across entire agricultural fields. Runoff can carry pesticides into aquatic environments while wind can carry them to other fields, grazing areas, human settlements and undeveloped areas, potentially affecting other species. This problem causes harmful invasions on ocean life and causes species to be affected and die off because it contaminates the water.
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