The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), the area in the central Pacific Ocean that is 4,000 to 5,500 meters deep, is being considered for the mining of polymetallic nodules containing manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper.

However, a new study by researchers from the University of Hawai’i (UH) at Mānoa, published on 6 November in Nature Communications, found that sediment discharged during mining operations could harm marine life, particularly tiny drifting animals called zooplankton, the Science Daily (SD) reported

The pervasive particles dilute the nutritious, natural food particles usually consumed by zooplankton, which nourish fish and other marine animals, explained Michael Dowd, lead author of the study, according to SD.

The scientists dubbed as junk food the samples of CCZ water they analyzed and found to contain far fewer nutrients, like amino acids.

Meanwhile, 2,000 fish bred in a commercial pond located in Changsha, Hunan province, southern China, are being fed with an unusual feed instead of grass.

Farmers Jiang Sheng and Kuang Ke were filmed feeding chili peppers to the fish, and the video went viral on Chinese social media.

Jiang said the fish are fed 5,000 kilos of various chili peppers daily, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports.

“Chilis are rich in vitamins, just like aquatic plants, and the fish love them. Feeding chili peppers to fish also enhances their intestinal health and boosts their resistance to stress,” SCMP quoted Jiang as telling Changsha Evening News.

Jiang added that the fish are not deterred by the spicy feed that accelerates their growth and repels parasites.

He explained that fish do not have taste buds like humans and rely primarily on their sense of smell, according to SCMP.