Marine Litter Assessment on Some Beaches Along the Southeastern Adriatic Coastline (Albania)
Marine litter is a truly global challenge, changing all oceans and seas of the world. Every year, millions of tons of litter end up in the coastal and marine environment worldwide, resulting in environmental, economic, health, and safety impacts. This stu
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Contents 1 Introduction 2 Materials and Methods 2.1 Study Area 2.2 Methods 2.3 Data Analysis and Processing 3 Results and Discussion 3.1 Litter Densities of Surveyed Beaches and Beach Cleanliness 3.2 Marine Litter Composition of Surveyed Beaches 3.3 Marine Litter Sources of Surveyed Beaches 3.4 Options to Manage the Litter of Beaches 4 Conclusions References
Abstract Marine litter is a truly global challenge, changing all oceans and seas of the world. Every year, millions of tons of litter end up in the coastal and marine environment worldwide, resulting in environmental, economic, health, and safety impacts. This study investigated the abundance, composition, and sources of marine litter stranded on four beaches located at Durrës Bay and in the Gulf of Drin, which also includes Rodoni Bay and Shëngjini Bay along the Albanian southern-eastern
Jerina Kolitari and Laura Gjyli contributed equally to this work. J. Kolitari (*) Laboratory of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Durrës, Department of Aquaculture and Fishery, Agricultural University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania e-mail: [email protected] L. Gjyli Department of Applied and Natural Sciences, Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës, Durrës, Albania e-mail: [email protected] Friederike Stock, Georg Reifferscheid, Nicole Brennholt, and Evgeniia Kostianaia (eds.), Plastics in the Aquatic Environment - Part I: Current Status and Challenges, Hdb Env Chem, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_627, © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
J. Kolitari and L. Gjyli
Adriatic coastline. During the winter 2015, 12 beach transects were surveyed, covering 12,000 m2 and extending over 1,000 m of the coastline. The mean litter density of the total four beaches studied was 219 items/100 m and 0.219 items/m2. The majority of litter items (58%) were plastic or artificial polymer materials. Other bottles and containers (drums) were the most frequently found items with a percentage of 6%, followed by cartons/tetra pack (others) with 5.7% and by cigarette butts and filters with 3.7%. The sites investigated differed in terms of human-induced pressures with two sites classified as semi-urban: one site as urban and one as rural. Litter from shoreline sources such as tourism and recreational activities, including poor waste management practices, accounted for 37.5% of litter collected, accounting for the vast majority of litter items. Sea-based sources of litter (fisheries and aquaculture, shipping) amounted to 8% of total litter items on all beach locations. Keywords Adriatic beaches, Albanian coastline, Marine litter, Plastic pollution, Single-use plastic
1 Introduction The Mediterranean basin is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and one of the most polluted and affected seas worldwide by marine litter. In the Mediterranean Sea, marine litter is a major threat for living marine organisms [1–3]. Research indicates that plastic pollution may impact biodiversity, ecosystem services, food security, and human health. Briefly, plastic pollution is a global threat [4]. Plastic marine litter observed in the
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