Search

Abstract Entanglement of marine fauna is one of the principal impacts of marine litter, with an incidence that can vary strongly according to regions, the type and the quantity of marine litter. On the seafloor, areas dominated by sessile suspension feeders, such as tropical coral reefs or deep-sea coral and sponge aggregations, have been termed "animal forests" and have a strong potential to monitor the temporal and spatial trends of entanglement by marine litter, especially fishing gears. Several characteristics of these organisms represent advantages while avoiding constraints and bias. Biological constraints and logistical aspects, including tools, are discussed to better define a strategy for supporting long-term evaluation of accumulation and entanglement of marine litter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Play is a common behaviour in wild cetaceans that includes the manipulation of natural, as well as artificial objects such as marine debris. Yet, very little is known about these interactions despite the potential impacts on cetacean health. We combined a detailed review of the scientific literature and social media with 12 years of observations to examine cetacean interactions with plastic litter. A total of 11 odontocete species (Tursiops truncatus , Stenella longirostris , Delphinus delphis , Grampus griseus , Steno bredanensis , Stenella frontalis , Sotalia guianensis , Pseudorca crassidens , Orcinus orca , Globicephala melas and Physeter macrocephalus) were documented in 59 events carrying or throwing plastic litter with their head and/or flippers suggesting a form of play. Interactions occurred in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and Red Sea, with single-use plastics composing the main typology registered. While these interactions appeared harmless to the observers, they can pose a significant risk through subsequent entanglement or ingestion. [Display omitted] • Animal behavioural interactions with plastic litter remain poorly understood. • Cetacean species were found to actively interact with single-use plastics worldwide. • Play with plastic litter might cause serious threats. • Measures to reduce marine plastics are available but insufficient. • More policies and awareness are needed to reduce SUPs in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic pollution in the marine environment attracts much attention from both researchers and the general public. Plastic items and other debris are commonly observed everywhere in the ocean, from the surface down to the deep ocean floor. In this study, we analysed 45.2 km of video footage, collected during 56 transects surveying the seafloor of the Faial-Pico Passage in order to quantify the abundance of marine litter and its interactions with benthic fauna. The footage was collected by a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and a manned submersible at depths ranging between 40 and 525 m. The mean litter density in the passage was 0.26 ± 0.03 items·100 m − 1 (± SE) and was significantly higher between 151 and 250 m compared to other depth strata. Overall, derelict fishing gear, mostly made of plastic, were the most common objects found on the seafloor, representing 64% of all items. Although we observed few evidence of direct deleterious effects by the litter, interactions with fauna were observed in more than half of the items. This study makes an important contribution in quantifying the abundance of marine litter on the seafloor of the Azores. The location of the Faial-Pico Passage, close to shore, makes it an appropriate site for long-term monitoring of litter on the seafloor and evaluate the efficiency of upcoming public policies aimed at reducing litter input into the oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic pollution is among the most pervasive stressors currently influencing the marine environment and affecting even the most remote areas. To date, there are still fundamental gaps in our understanding of the major pathways and fate of plastic debris in the oceans. Here we show that oceanic insular environments are important transitory repositories of small plastic items floating in the open ocean. Monthly monitoring of seven beaches over a three-year period demonstrate that beaches of the Azores islands with particular characteristics can capture significant quantities of fragments between 2 and 5 mm in length. The beach with the highest plastic loading rates was found to occasionally accumulate densities exceeding 15,000 fragments m−2 on part of the backshore. However, a large portion of these fragments can be rapidly washed back into the marine environment. Detailed characterization of those plastic items revealed the typology and size distribution to be similar throughout the seven beaches and through the 33 months surveyed, suggesting a same and unique source. Our results show that these oceanic islands of the North-East Atlantic are under pressure of high quantities of fragmented plastic debris that probably entered the ocean many years ago. Image 1 • Monthly loading rates and accumulation were quantified over 3 years for 7 beaches. • Densities accumulating on the backshore reached a maximum of 9338 ± 386 items·m−2. • Sheltered beaches with a southwest orientation captured significantly more plastic. • White plastic fragments between 2 and 4 mm were dominating items. • Yearly capture rates correspond to 0.3% of the amount floating in the NE Atlantic. Monthly monitoring of plastic loading rates and accumulation on seven beaches of the Azores islands over a 33-month period revealed a chronic exposure to plastic pollution in these oceanic islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The distribution and composition of macro litter floating around oceanic islands is poorly known, especially in the North Atlantic. Due to its isolated location at the fringe of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, the Azores archipelago has recently been proposed as a potential retention zone for floating litter. To further investigate this assumption, opportunistic surveys from pole-and-line tuna fishing boats were performed from 2015 to 2017 to document (1) the distribution and (2) the composition of the floating macro litter present off the Azores and Madeira islands. Among the 2406 visual transects, 482 floating debris were recorded and were mainly composed of general plastic user items (48%), plastic packaging (21%) and derelict fishing gears (18%). Average number of debris per transect was 0.19 ± 0.5, with a total number ranging between 0 and 5 items per transect. For the majority of transects (84%), no debris was observed, 13% of the transects contained a single item, and only 3% contained more than one item. Although debris between 2.5 and 5 cm were recorded, 93% of the debris were larger than 5 cm. The GLMs showed strong effect of the observer (p < 0.001) and the standardized densities accounting for the observer bias were higher (1.39 ± 0.14 items.km-2) than the observed densities (0.78 ± 0.07 items.km−2). Debris densities were however relatively low and tended to aggregate around the Central group of the Azores (standardized mean: 0.90 ± 0.20 items.km−2). Our findings therefore suggest that most of the debris might originate from far away land-based sources and from fishing activities. This study highlights the potential of fisheries observer programs to obtain cost-effective information on floating macro debris that are essential to support the implementation of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Highlights • Investigation of the distribution and composition of floating litter. • 2406 opportunistic surveys from pole-and-line tuna fishing boats off the Azores. • Debris were mainly general plastic, plastic packaging and fishing gears of >5 cm. • Debris density was relatively low (0.78 ± 0.07 items.km−2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]