Toxic tides of change: Ocean pollution as a cultural tipping point.

Jessica M Vandenberg, Eliana Ritts, Yoshitaka Ota, Russell Fielding

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Ambio, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Awareness, cultural importance, risk perception and consumption behavior - the issue of contaminants in pilot whales in the Faroe Islands.International journal of circumpolar health · 2026
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jessica M VandenbergMarine Affairs Department, University of Rhode Island, 202 Coastal Institute, 1 Greenhouse Rd, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA. jvandenberg@uri.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7115-9682

Eliana RittsMarine Affairs Department, University of Rhode Island, 202 Coastal Institute, 1 Greenhouse Rd, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA.

Yoshitaka OtaMarine Affairs Department, University of Rhode Island, 202 Coastal Institute, 1 Greenhouse Rd, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA.

Russell FieldingHTC Honors College, Coastal Carolina University, PO Box 261954, Conway, SC, 29528, USA.

Funding

National Science Foundation 2108452

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This paper offers a new perspective on the valuation of the impacts of industrial ocean pollution. Rising levels of industrial pollutants have a profound impact on marine resource-dependent peoples, particularly those dependent on seafood consumption. We argue that current regulation of these pollutants is both insufficient and inequitable, as it only accounts for impacts on physical health while ignoring cultural implications. This paper introduces the "cultural tipping point" as a new framework that integrates the impacts of ocean pollution on peoples' physical and cultural health and well-being. Drawing on anthropology, marine sciences, public health, and critical Indigenous studies, the cultural tipping point synthesizes diverse concepts of "cultural keystone species," food sovereignty, and industrial pollution. Ultimately, our goal is to make the cultural impacts of ocean pollution legible within global governance networks, and to advocate for greater allocation of societal resources to address this issue.

Indexed as

CultureWater PollutionHumansOceans and SeasCultural keystone speciesEnvironmental justiceFood sovereigntySeafoodSlow violenceSustainability

Identifiers

PMID41100008

DOI10.1007/s13280-025-02261-2

PMCPMC12961003

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.