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Patterns of beach litter accumulation in the European Arctic was investigated by sampling beaches on the Norwegian mainland in the southern Barents Sea, on northern Novaya Zemlya (Russia), and the southern shore of the Svalbard archipelago. The coast of Finnmark county on the Norwegian mainland was considerably more polluted than the other regions. More than half the surveyed beaches there were more polluted than the "very clean" designation from the Clean Coast Index, compared to <20 % in the other regions. The mean litter density was 8 items m−1, compared to 0.6–1.2 items m−1 in the other regions. Litter from maritime sources was common, and regional patterns in beach litter densities mirror regional patterns in nearshore (<50 km) fishing vessel activities as indicated by analyses of AIS tracks. A review of previously conducted beach litter Deep Dive analyses also indicate prevalent Norwegian and Russian packaging, further supporting a predominance of local litter sources. • Beach litter sampled in the European Arctic. • The southern Barents Sea (Norwegian mainland) was the most polluted. • Evidence of long-range transport was limited. • Nearshore fishing activities appear an important source of marine litter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combating the challenge of marine litter requires an understanding of its distribution and accumulation for mitigative measures, and its sources for targeted preventative measures. The latter is generally not well assessed through most beach litter registration protocols available to citizen scientists. Deep Dives were specifically developed to provide management with additional relevant data on the sources of and behaviours leading to littering in the Arctic. In this project, the Deep Dive protocol was used as an add-on to the Norwegian national volunteer beach cleanup registration protocol. Litter was cleaned and registered from 9 locations in the Svalbard archipelago 2022-2023 in collaboration with two groups of citizen scientists: members of the Arctic Research Group and students from Svalbard Folkehøgskole. These were given specialised training as "super-users" to apply this more complex beach litter registration protocol. The experience of the volunteers was generally positive and the data quality good, although some need for additions to the training was highlighted to reliably categorise some challenging items. In the future, citizen scientists could contribute significantly to the collection of management-relevant data on marine litter in the Arctic provided adequate training, resources, and a user-friendly data registration portal. • The national Norwegian citizen science protocol was harmonised with Deep Dive. • Deep Dives add increased resolution for items specifically relevant for the Arctic. • "Super-users" successfully collected data on provenance and age when possible. • Results revealed a high prevalence of local and maritime litter sources. • Adequate training and resources are critical for success with an extended protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coastal zone in the Arctic is being extensively used for recreational activities. Simultaneously, there is an increasing pressure from commercial activities. We present results from a discrete choice experiment implemented in Arctic Norway, revealing how households in this region make trade-offs between recreational activities and commercial developments in the coastal zone. Our results show that, although people prefer stricter regulation of commercial activities, they welcome expansion in marine industries like aquaculture and marine fishing tourism. We also find evidence of high willingness-to-pay for new jobs; and this may partly explain the preferences for the commercial facilities in spite of the visual intrusion they create. On the other hand people expressed a clear dislike for littering of the beaches. Hence, the message to policy makers is to allow for commercial development in the coastal zone, but only under strict regulations, especially related to measures reducing the amount of marine debris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling studies illustrate the potential for long-range transport of plastics into the Arctic, although the degree to which this occurs remains relatively undocumented. We utilised a teaching exercise at a UArctic summer school graduate course in Nuuk, Greenland to conduct a preliminary in-depth analysis of beach litter sources in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord. Students and instructors collected and analysed 1800 litter items weighing 200 kg from one location in the fjord and another at its mouth. The results suggest a predominance of local sources to macrolitter, rather than long-range transport from Europe. Fisheries-related items and rope were common. Packaging which could be identified was largely suspected to be products distributed in Greenland, and soft plastics, which rarely disperse far from its source, were also common. The results suggest local measures to reduce mismanaged waste and emissions from fisheries are important for reducing marine litter in West Greenland. • Beach litter Deep Dive conducted with UArctic summer school students. • Beach litter in Nuup Kangerlua, West Greenland was primarily of local origin. • Most identifiable packaging were products likely distributed in Greenland. • Trawl floats, rope and other fisheries-related litter was also common. • Reduction measures should target local waste management practices and fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information from established beach litter protocols is insufficient to implement targeted, preventive management measures. Complementary methodologies, named "Beach litter Deep Dives", have been developed to get a better understanding of the sources of and behaviour behind littering. The methods are adaptive and determined by the context and aim of the deep dive. A Professional Deep Dive's aim is documentation, where trained professionals register information relevant for the research or management question of concern. Deep Dives with Experts invites people from relevant backgrounds that have knowledge on the sources of and behaviour behind litter found. Deep Dive Workshops focus on dialogue with stakeholders and decision makers to identify actions. Experience from deep dives illustrates their potential to provide valuable information that is directly relevant to managers and polluters. Inclusion of stakeholders has increased their awareness, resulting in polluters taking ownership to the problem and motivated measures to reduce littering. • Standard beach litter protocols are insufficient to guide management measures. • Beach litter deep dives a cost-efficient tool giving complementary information • Provides knowledge directly relevant to identify actions • Successful in involving stakeholders in taking ownership of solutions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic pollution compromises ocean health, with large amounts of plastics continuing to enter marine and coastal environments. Various mitigative engineering solutions are being developed and implemented in response to this threat. While recognising the positive impacts of clean-ups, we highlight two perspectives given little attention to date, which are vital to evaluating the cost-benefit ratio of clean-ups: firstly, clean-up efficiency where density and accessibility of litter are key, and secondly, potential negative externalities that implementation of clean-up technologies may have. These principles, catch per unit effort and the impact on non-target species, are well known from fisheries management. We argue they should also be applied in evaluating marine litter removal schemes. • Plastic clean-up technologies generally lack environmental cost-benefit analyses. • We suggest key principles from fisheries management for such evaluations. • Principles of catch efficiency and bycatch reduction are relevant for plastic clean-ups. • Scarce data on plastic distribution and overlap with ecosystem components limits evaluation. • A lack of cost-benefits analyses risks damage to ecosystems and inefficient mitigation actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its remoteness, marine plastic pollution is a significant environmental problem in the Arctic. In Svalbard, for example, plastics are found on the shorelines, in the water column, on the ocean floor and in the ice. Organisms have been observed to be entangled in nets and ingestion of plastics has been documented in a range of organisms. Notably almost all Arctic bird species have been found to have ingested plastic, with Northern fulmars being particularly affected, with 89 % of samples recorded as having ingested plastic. Identification and valuation of ecosystem services affected by marine plastic pollution can provide input for decision makers in evaluating and comparing management policies concerning this unique environment. This study employs the contingent valuation method (CVM) for eliciting the willingness to pay (WTP) of Norwegian households for reducing marine plastic pollution around the archipelago of Svalbard. An Integrated Choice and Latent Variable model (ICLV) is employed to explore attitudinal determinants of WTP. We find an average WTP for an initiative to reduce marine plastics of NOK 5,485 (USD 642) per household per year. The ICLV results reveal that people who are relatively more concerned about marine plastic pollution and who deem the proposed initiative effective are willing to pay more (up to 85 % and 50 %, respectively). The use of ICLV models in CVM and recommendations for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]