Drilling for minerals deep in the ocean could have immense consequences on the tiny animals at the core of the vast ocean food web — and ultimately affect fisheries and the food we find on our plates. That’s according to a study by University of Hawaii researchers that’s out Thursday in the journal Nature Communications. Deep-sea mining means drilling the sea floor for nodules loaded with critical minerals including copper, iron and zinc, which nations across the globe are pursuing. The researchers studied an area of the Pacific at a depth of 1,500 meters called the “twilight zone,” where the discharge of mining waste could affect the food web.