95
et al. 2009 ). Plastics are biologically inert and
probably stay in the marine environment for long
periods. If ingested, plastics release chemicals
(mainly phthalates and bisphenol A) but also sorb
hydrophobic pollutants (including PCBs and
DDT). More research is however needed to establish the full environmental relevance and potential impact of these microparticles, notably on
distribution, transport, degradation/weathering
processes and sorption/release mechanisms.
Other known impacts of marine litter include
alteration and degradation of benthic habitats
(Katsanevakis et al. 2007 ) but also assist invasions of alien species, including of algae associated with red tides (Barnes 2002 ).
From a socio-economic perspective, harm can
include the cost of degradation of ecosystem goods
and services, including the reduction in recreational, aesthetic or educational values of an area
such as beaches, as well as risks to human health
such as the threat of fl oating objects to navigation.
Economic harm includes signifi cant impact by
direct costs and loss of income due to marine litter
and affects a range of maritime sectors (including
aquaculture, agriculture, fi sheries, shipping and
leisure boating), power generation and industrial
use, local authorities and tourism. Levels of economic “harm” may run into millions of euro annually even at subregional scales (Mouat et al. 2010 ).
Marine litter is also a serious offence to the visual
and aesthetic sensitivities of visitors to beaches.
Furthermore, sanitary, sewage- related and medical
waste may cause injuries and/or be a risk to human
health (Ivar do Sul and Costa 2007 ).
There is no common understanding of what
exactly constitutes “harm” from marine litter or
how it can be assessed with respect to the implementation of the MSFD. Research must consider
this and develop robust approaches for assessing
harm measures to reduce pollution from litter
need to target different sources. Identifying the
source of many litter items is however a complex
task because of point and diffuse sources and
possible long-distance travels before fi nal destinations. Factors such as ocean current patterns,
winds and tides and the proximity to urban centres, industrial and recreational areas, shipping
lanes and fi shing grounds infl uence the types,
nature and amount of litter that is found in the
open sea or collected along beaches, waterways
or underwater. Sources of marine litter can be
characterized as either land based or sea based,
depending on how the litter enters marine waters.
These broad categories can be further broken
down into sources such as recreational litter,
shipping or fi shing litter, urban sources, etc.
Some items can be attributed to certain sources.
Such so-called use categories provide information for setting targets and reduction measures, as
they can easily be linked to sources.
For the Mediterranean Sea, PNUE/PAM/
MEDPOL (UNEP 2009 ) reported that most of
the marine litter comes from land-based rather
than sea-based sources (e.g. ships). Litter enters
the sea mainly from the shoreline and results
from recreational activities. It is composed
mainly of plastics, aluminium and glass.
Recordings of fl oating litter confi rmed the overwhelming presence of plastics in the
Mediterranean Sea (83 % of the observed marine
litter items). The situation in the North Sea is different. The large diversity of items found on the
coasts indicates that in the Northeast Atlantic,
maritime activities in the form of shipping, fi shing and offshore installations are the predominant sources together with coastal recreational
and tourism activities (OSPAR 2009 ). A considerable proportion of litter enters the North Sea
through transport by wind, currents and rivers
and via the English Channel. Upcoming work
will lead to better understand of waste pathways
depending on the type of litter. Mapping the
sources and their quantities remains a necessary
step in order to plan effective measures (Fig. 1 ).
3
Monitoring
In Europe, the existing different, but compatible,
methods for monitoring need to be adapted and
harmonized to take account of regional
differences, e.g. in the type of coastline or prevailing currents in offshore areas. Methodologies
for source assessment are mostly based on the
identifi cation and reporting of collected/
observed marine litter. Due to the difference in
Marine Litter Within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive
et al. 2009 ). Plastics are biologically inert and
probably stay in the marine environment for long
periods. If ingested, plastics release chemicals
(mainly phthalates and bisphenol A) but also sorb
hydrophobic pollutants (including PCBs and
DDT). More research is however needed to establish the full environmental relevance and potential impact of these microparticles, notably on
distribution, transport, degradation/weathering
processes and sorption/release mechanisms.
Other known impacts of marine litter include
alteration and degradation of benthic habitats
(Katsanevakis et al. 2007 ) but also assist invasions of alien species, including of algae associated with red tides (Barnes 2002 ).
From a socio-economic perspective, harm can
include the cost of degradation of ecosystem goods
and services, including the reduction in recreational, aesthetic or educational values of an area
such as beaches, as well as risks to human health
such as the threat of fl oating objects to navigation.
Economic harm includes signifi cant impact by
direct costs and loss of income due to marine litter
and affects a range of maritime sectors (including
aquaculture, agriculture, fi sheries, shipping and
leisure boating), power generation and industrial
use, local authorities and tourism. Levels of economic “harm” may run into millions of euro annually even at subregional scales (Mouat et al. 2010 ).
Marine litter is also a serious offence to the visual
and aesthetic sensitivities of visitors to beaches.
Furthermore, sanitary, sewage- related and medical
waste may cause injuries and/or be a risk to human
health (Ivar do Sul and Costa 2007 ).
There is no common understanding of what
exactly constitutes “harm” from marine litter or
how it can be assessed with respect to the implementation of the MSFD. Research must consider
this and develop robust approaches for assessing
harm measures to reduce pollution from litter
need to target different sources. Identifying the
source of many litter items is however a complex
task because of point and diffuse sources and
possible long-distance travels before fi nal destinations. Factors such as ocean current patterns,
winds and tides and the proximity to urban centres, industrial and recreational areas, shipping
lanes and fi shing grounds infl uence the types,
nature and amount of litter that is found in the
open sea or collected along beaches, waterways
or underwater. Sources of marine litter can be
characterized as either land based or sea based,
depending on how the litter enters marine waters.
These broad categories can be further broken
down into sources such as recreational litter,
shipping or fi shing litter, urban sources, etc.
Some items can be attributed to certain sources.
Such so-called use categories provide information for setting targets and reduction measures, as
they can easily be linked to sources.
For the Mediterranean Sea, PNUE/PAM/
MEDPOL (UNEP 2009 ) reported that most of
the marine litter comes from land-based rather
than sea-based sources (e.g. ships). Litter enters
the sea mainly from the shoreline and results
from recreational activities. It is composed
mainly of plastics, aluminium and glass.
Recordings of fl oating litter confi rmed the overwhelming presence of plastics in the
Mediterranean Sea (83 % of the observed marine
litter items). The situation in the North Sea is different. The large diversity of items found on the
coasts indicates that in the Northeast Atlantic,
maritime activities in the form of shipping, fi shing and offshore installations are the predominant sources together with coastal recreational
and tourism activities (OSPAR 2009 ). A considerable proportion of litter enters the North Sea
through transport by wind, currents and rivers
and via the English Channel. Upcoming work
will lead to better understand of waste pathways
depending on the type of litter. Mapping the
sources and their quantities remains a necessary
step in order to plan effective measures (Fig. 1 ).
3
Monitoring
In Europe, the existing different, but compatible,
methods for monitoring need to be adapted and
harmonized to take account of regional
differences, e.g. in the type of coastline or prevailing currents in offshore areas. Methodologies
for source assessment are mostly based on the
identifi cation and reporting of collected/
observed marine litter. Due to the difference in
Marine Litter Within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive