A Brief History of Marine Litter Research

Abstract

This chapter traces the history of marine litter research from anecdotal reports of entanglement and plastic ingestion in the 1960s to the current focus on microplastics and their role in the transfer of persistent organic pollutants to marine food webs. The reports in Science of large numbers of plastic pellets in the North Atlantic in the early 1970s stimulated research interest in plastic litter at sea, with papers reporting plastics on the seafloor and impacting a variety of marine animals. The focus then shifted to high concentrations of plastic litter in the North Pacific, where novel studies reported the dynamics of stranded beach litter, the factors influencing plastic ingestion by seabirds, and trends in fur seal entanglement. By the early 1980s, growing concern about the potential impacts of marine litter resulted in a series of meetings on marine debris. The first two international conferences held in Honolulu by the US National Marine Fisheries Service played a key role in setting the research agenda for the next decade. By the end of the 1980s, most impacts of marine litter were reasonably well understood, and attention shifted to seeking effective solutions to tackle the marine litter problem. Research was largely restricted to monitoring trends in litter to assess the effectiveness of mitigation measures, until the last decade, when concern about microplastics coupled with the discovery of alarming densities of small plastic particles in the North Pacific 'garbage patch' (and other mid-ocean gyres) stimulated the current wave of research.

Global Distribution, Composition and Abundance of Marine Litter

“…Initially described in the marine environment in the 1960s, marine litter is nowadays commonly observed across all oceans (Ryan 2015). Together with its breakdown products, meso-particles (5-2.5 cm) and micro-particles (<5 mm), they have become more numerous and floating litter items can be transported over long distances by prevailing winds and currents (Barnes et al 2009).…”

Risk Perception of Plastic Pollution: Importance of Stakeholder Involvement and Citizen Science

“…However, Carpenter and Smith [16] were the first to notice that plastic accumulated in specific oceanic zone, in their Science publication of plastic debris in the Sargasso Sea. It was also in the 1970s that the first reports of beach litter were published [17]. More frequent reports on occurrence were consistently being published from the 1980s (e.g., [18,19]), and it was in this decade that a systematically growing trend of marine pollution with plastic was first reported [20].…”

“…Plastic pollution research declined during the 1990s, only to drastically increase after it was verified during the 2000s that plastic was a ubiquitous marine pollutant [17]. Among several important publications, Thompson et al [26] published a famous paper in science entitled "Lost at sea: Where is all the plastic?"…”

“…Among several important publications, Thompson et al [26] published a famous paper in science entitled "Lost at sea: Where is all the plastic?" which is being recognized as a major driver for the elevated scientific interest [17]. The significant increase in scientific publications on the topic was followed with increased international media attention and political measures being enforced.…”

Development of Beach Litter Monitoring on the Latvian Coastline: the Citizen Science Perspective

“…One of the most significant issues is the growth of marine litter, as the solid waste enters marine environment and accumulates in beaches, seabed or in the water column (Ryan, 2015). Marine litter is associated with a number of negative economic, social and ecological consequences, especially concerning plastic waste (Gre-en et al, 2015, Cozar et al, 2014, Cole, 2011 and the reduction of marine litter is one of the objectives of EU Marine Strategy Framework directive (Galgani et al, 2010).…”