DIVING FOR ASSESSING SEAFLOOR MARINE LITTER IN SHALLOW COASTAL MPAS

, Morató Trobat Mercè Compa Ferrer Monserrat.

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most affected seas by marine litter and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are not free from this type of pollution (Alomar et al., 2016). Litter in the marine environment is a risk for different species and ecosystems (Deudero and Alomar, 2015), and the Balearic island are susceptible to plastic pollution in coastal areas especially during the summer season (Compa et al., 2019). The abundance and composition of marine litter were surveyed on six beaches and twelve coastal seafloor areas were monitored through scuba diving surveys in Cabrera National Park (Balearic Islands) to characterize and study marine litter abundance and composition in this MPA. According to beaches, artificial polymer materials made up 94% of the items identified, in contrast, in the seafloor samples, the artificial polymer materials were the main fraction (96%) in a seafloor located within the port follow by glass and ceramics (up to 83%) in an integral reserve area. Preliminary results highlight that there is variation in the amount of macrolitter arriving to the beaches and the seafloor of Cabrera National Park. Overall, more than 4750 macro litter items were identified on the beaches and in the surrounding seafloor shallow areas indicating not only local sources from within the port area but also high transference to areas where human activities are either limited or with high restrictions.

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