The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) urged countries along the Bay of Bengal to draft stronger laws against ocean pollution, due to the formation of a dead zone in the centre of the bay.

Spread cross nearly 6,000 square kilometres and ranging from 100 to 400 metres in depth, the dead zone is located east of India, northeast of Sri Lanka, south of Bangladesh, and west of Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar.

MEPA General Manager Dr. P. B. Teney Pradeep Kumara said that the dead zone was formed due to excessive ocean pollution caused by discarding polythene, plastic, other non-degradable pollutants and chemicals, and urged for a regional agreement to protect marine life and the region’s oceans.