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Modern society depends on plastic, especially through single-use plastic products (SUPs), which can affect ecological systems after use. Local policymakers can strategically adopt measures against SUPs pollution by setting effective local governance. This work was designed to evaluate SUPs consumption inside the Marine Protected Area of the Egadi Islands. A questionnaire mixed approach to understanding stakeholders' consumption, attitudes and perceptions about the uses and impacts of SUPs in the third sector was used. Results show a significant seasonal consumption of SUPs and uncertainty in the behaviour to discard them. These provide valuable insights to fill research gaps in estimating the use of SUPs and consumers' perceptions. The main aim of this work has been to understand the critical issues regarding the use of SUPs, considering the target area's patterns, in support of designing action plans for changing behaviour and the mitigation of critical issues in favour of environmental conservation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Marine litter pollution threatens marine ecosystems and biodiversity conservation, particularly on seafloors where all anthropogenic waste naturally sinks. In this study, we provide new information on the composition, density and origin of seafloor macrolitter as well as on plastic ingestion in deep-sea fish from bottom-trawling by-catch in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. Plastic constituted the highest fraction of litter in terms of density (64 %) and weight (32 %) and was also retrieved in the gastrointestinal traits of Chlorophthalmus agassizi, Coelorhynchus coelorhynchus and Hoplosthethus mediterraneus. FT-IR spectroscopy analysis on the seafloor macrolitter and the ingested plastics revealed the presence of artificial polymers including PE, PET/polyester, PA widely used for food packaging, plastic bags and several common products, especially Single Use Plastic (SUP). These results underline how poor waste management schemes or their incorrect application strongly contribute to marine litter accumulation on seafloors and plastic ingestion in deep-sea fish., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Few studies focused on behaviour adaptations of organisms to marine litter (ML) pollution in Mediterranean Sea. This research, investigates on some behavior traits of Octopus vulgaris, focusing on the interaction with ML during the artisanal fishing activities by the bottom traps in a small coastal area of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. For the first time, this pilot study uses an integrated approach based on the Fishermen Ecological Knowledge as well as the analysis of ML found in the traps. First assessment of plastic ingestion in this species are also reported. Plastic and metal were the predominant ML categories observed into the bottom traps. A total of 62 plastics, mainly small microplastics and fibres shaped, were ingested. The ML finding in the bottom traps suggests an interesting behavior of the common octopus regarding its interaction with ML, in fact, it seems to bring ML inside its dens, as a collector., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the framework of the Plastic Busters MPAs project, a harmonization exercise on two methods of microplastic extraction from biological samples i.e. 15% H 2 O 2 digestion and 10% KOH digestion was carried out. The two methods were tested in four laboratories on fish gastrointestinal tracts and mussel tissues spiked with polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate. The recovery percentage of microplastics for each method, species and polymer tested were overall similar among laboratories, and interlaboratory coefficient of variation was less than 11% for the majority of samples. Microplastic recovery rates for the two methods were similar for each sample tested, but overall mean interlaboratory recovery rate using KOH (96.67%) was higher than H 2 O 2 (88.75%) . Results validate the use of both methods for extracting microplastics from biota tissues. However, when comparing the two methods in terms of microplastic recovery rate, time consumed, technical difficulties and cost, digestion with 10% KOH is considered optimal., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this research was to assess marine litter abundance and its effects on the benthic fauna in an area of the central Mediterranean Sea exploited by fisheries using fish aggregating devices (FAD). The study was carried out by means of a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV). Derelict fishing gear, mainly FAD ropes, represented the main source of marine debris, contributing 96.2% to the overall litter. About 47% of debris items (mostly FAD ropes) entangled colonies of the protected black coral Leiopathes glaberrima. The results of this research will assist in the monitoring of "impact/harm" to the coral and other benthic communities, as recommended by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and by the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme. Preventive and mitigation measures (i.e., biodegradable fishing gear, onboard technology to locate and retrieve gear, reception and/or payment for old/retrieved gear, and introduction of no-take zones) to reduce the problem are discussed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Citizen science programs carried out by volunteers are fundamental for the collection of scientific data on a wide spatial scale. From 2011 to 2018, 468 survey dives were conducted in 172 coastal locations of the Mediterranean Sea through Project AWARE's citizen science program, Dive Against Debris®. During the dives, information was collected on quantity, typology and distribution of seafloor litter in shallow coastal waters. Overall, the observed average density was 43.55 items/100 m 2 and plastic was largely the dominant material (55% of the total collected items) on basin scale. The most abundant seafloor litter items were plastic fragments with 9.46%, followed by beverage cans (7.45%). Single-use plastic items constituted 33% of the total marine litter. The results of the study can be used to inform policymakers of the European Community towards specific management action to contrast the marine litter in relation to the distribution of the recorded litter category., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The distribution of floating litter in marine waters, influenced by currents and wind drag, often determines the dispersal of its encrusting fauna. In the present paper, we observed for the first time the colonization of rafting floats from abandoned, lost or derelict fishing gears (ALDFG) by the four protected deep-sea species: Errina aspera, Desmophyllum pertusum, Madrepora oculata Pachylasma giganteum. Overall, 41 floats, colonized by deep benthic species, were found stranded on the shore of the Sicilian coast of the Strait of Messina, between 2016 and 2019. Species composition, number and occurrence of colonizing organisms were analyzed. On the basis of the species composition (the association between E. aspera, P. giganteum and Megabalanus tulipiformis), the knowledge on their ecology, biogeography, path of local currents, it was possible to define that the area of origin of the most part of these fishing net floats was the Strait of Messina., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study investigates the occurrence of plastic pollution in two commercially important marine teleosts (Zeus faber and Lepidopus caudatus) from the northern coasts of Sicily (Tyrrhenian Sea). Plastics occurrence in the gastrointestinal tract was higher in Lepidopus caudatus (78.1%) than Zeus faber (51.4%). Debris characterization, carried out by micro-Raman spectroscopy, allowed identified the main types of found polymers as: polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), nylon and, to a lesser extent, polyethylene (PE). Of the two fish species studied, the silver scabbardfish appeared to be the more vulnerable to plastic ingestion. Our study represents a starting point that may pave the way for future investigation of the fate, accumulation and transfer of plastic debris to upper trophic levels, to verify their potential toxicity and to better understand strategies to mitigate this phenomenon., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Abundance and qualitative composition of benthic marine litter were investigated in a coastal area of the central Mediterranean Sea. Almost 30 km of video footage, collected by a Remotely Operated Vehicle between 5 and 30 m depth, were analyzed. Litter density ranged from 0 to 0.64 items/m 2 with a mean of 0.11 (±0.16) items/m 2 . General wastes, made up almost entirely of plastic objects, were the dominant sources of debris representing 68% of the overall litter. The remaining 32% consisted of lost or abandoned fishing gears. Synthetic polymers, considering both fishing gears and general waste, represented 73% of total debris items. Our results are comparable with litter amounts reported in other Mediterranean sites at similar depths. Overall, the results are discussed in terms of monitoring strategy, to support the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) for descriptor 10 and the Mediterranean UN Environment (UNEP/MAP) regional Plan on Marine Litter., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the hazard from shipwrecks on communities by a holistic approach taking into account different effects on biological communities. Multibeam and Remotely Operated Vehicles surveys recorded ecological assessment of fish and benthic species on three shipwrecks flooded during the Second World War on Maërl beds habitats in the strait of Sicily. Pollution levels of a wide range of chemicals of ecotoxicological concern were also measured in sediments and in fish species from different trophic levels. Statistical analysis evidenced significant differences among pollutant levels between both sediments and fish collected in shipwreck sites and controls. Concerning fish, significant effects due to the vessel's cargo type and flooding position are recorded. In spite of that, our results underline that shipwrecks are also a hotspots of biodiversity and a habitat for preservation strategies in marine ecosystems that need to be monitored., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This research aims to define for the first time levels and patterns of different litter groups (macro, meso and microplastics) in sediments from a marine area designed for the institution of a new marine protected area (Aeolian Archipelago, Italy). Microplastics resulted the principal group and found in all samples analyzed, with shape and colours variable between different sampling sites. MPs levels measured in this study are similar to values recorded in harbour sites and lower than reported in Adriatic Sea, while macroplastics levels are notably lower than in harbor sites. Sediment grain-size and island extent resulted not significant in determining levels and distribution of plastic debris among islands. In the future, following the establishment of the MPA in the study area, these basic data will be useful to check for potential protective effects on the levels and distribution of plastic debris., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Marine environmental disturbance can be assessed directly from physical and chemical parameters, or indirectly by the study of indicator species. In this study, an integrated approach to monitor the Gulf of Milazzo, labeled as a highly contaminated site, is presented. A total of 83 samples were collected from hard and soft bottoms in 2010. In sum, 2739 specimens belonging to 246 taxa, two first records for the Tyrrhenian Sea (Micronephthys stammeri and Nicomache lumbricalis) and three nonindigenous species (Brachidontes pharaonis, Crassostrea gigas and Notomastus aberans) were recorded. Biodiversity and biotic indices and their relationship with sediment parameters and the level of pollutants were assessed to describe faunal assemblage and evaluate environmental quality. Pearson tests evidenced significant negative correlation between polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and specific richness (p<0.10). A comparison of the standard and recorded biotic values showed that M-AMBI seems to be the index more representative of ecological quality status (EcoQ) in the Gulf of Milazzo. No evident signs were highlighted on the complex., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study focuses, for the first time, on the presence of plastic debris in the stomach contents of large pelagic fish (Xiphias gladius, Thunnus thynnus and Thunnus alalunga) caught in the Mediterranean Sea between 2012 and 2013. Results highlighted the ingestion of plastics in the 18.2% of samples. The plastics ingested were microplastics (<5mm), mesoplastics (5-25mm) and macroplastics (>25mm). These preliminary results represent an important initial phase in exploring two main ecotoxicological aspects: (a) the assessment of the presence and impact of plastic debris on these large pelagic fish, and (b) the potential effects related to the transfer of contaminants on human health., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)