So where is the referenced study? Or the actual picture? I did not see a link from this article and the photos are unrelated.

Edit: I think they are talking about this? [1] The depth, location, and description match. The observation is from 1998 which I believe has relevance that would be curiously missing from the article?

Edit 2: I think I found the referenced study: "Human footprint in the abyss: 30 year records of deep-sea plastic debris" [2]

[1] https://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/dsdebris/view/metadata?key=J...

[2]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X1...