Statistical analyses of the results of 25 years of beach litter surveys on the south-eastern North Sea coast

Schulz, Martin; Clemens, Thomas L.; Förster, H.; Harder, Thorsten; Fleet, David M.; Gaus, Silvia; Grave, Christel; Flegel, Imme; Schrey, Eckart; Hartwig, Eike

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.04.007

Cited by 57 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Schulz et al (2015b) analysed the 25 years beach macro litter data series for 8 German North Sea beaches and pointed out that it was difficult to identify long-term trends. The temporal variability on southern Baltic beaches seemed to be even stronger compared to the more remote North Sea beaches.…”

Section: Spatio-temporal Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Beach macro-litter monitoring on southern Baltic beaches: results, experiences and recommendations

et al. 2017

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Major objectives were to provide a comprehensive dataset on beach macro-litter for parts of the southern Baltic Sea and to analyse if the methodology is fully applicable and a suitable monitoring method in the Baltic. We carried out a regular macro litter beach monitoring (OSPAR methodology, 4 time a year) on 35 beaches along the German and Lithuanian Baltic coast over 2-5 years. Additional experiments addressed the subjectivity of the field surveys and spatio-temporal variability on different scales. We observed no seasonality of the data and a monthly compared to a 3-monthly sampling resulted in 3 times higher annual item numbers. Along the Lithuanian coast, the average number of items per survey varied between 138 and 340 and along the German Baltic coast between 7 and 404, with a median value of 47. All data showed a very high spatio-temporal variability. Using the Matrix Scoring Technique we assessed beach litter sources. With 50% tourism and recreation was the most important source. 3D-transport simulations helped to explain the minor role of shipping as a source and, compared to the North Sea, the low numbers of items on German Baltic beaches. Floating litter had a short duration time in the western Baltic Sea and offshore drift dominated. Further, the common regular beach cleanings reduced the potential for local litter accumulation and translocation. We suggest a monitoring system on 14 Baltic beaches in Germany and 2 in Lithuania and provide cost calculations. The analysis of macro-litter in cormorant nesting material and the search for beached dead animals did not show any result. We can conclude that the macro-litter beach monitoring method is less suitable for Baltic beaches and should only serve as a complementary method in combination with others.

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Section: Spatio-temporal Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Beach macro-litter monitoring on southern Baltic beaches: results, experiences and recommendations

et al. 2017

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“…As it can be seen, there is very high variability of data among all the groups. This is mostly due to the general variability of the amount of litter found on beaches (Ryan, 2014, Schulz et al, 2015 and most of the monitored beaches show very different amounts of items found every year. As the goal of this article is just to detect the differences of the classes, but not to determine statistical significance of these differences, most of the analyses are presented visually by the graphs.…”

Section: Assessing the Relevant Conditions For Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Cepuritis

Ulme²,

Bombiza

2021

Regional Formation and Development Studies

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The research analyses the beach litter monitoring programme in Latvia and provides suggestions for its improvement seeking to provide necessary information for effective marine litter management on the Latvian coastline of the Baltic Sea. The beach litter monitoring programme has been enacted since 2012 by NGO "FEE Latvia" and current research has been focused on the situation assessment and particularly provides analyses on a number and distribution of the surveyed beaches, the frequency and timing of the monitoring, litter classification and counting methodology, as well as the possible programme development using the NGO work based on the citizen science approach. The results allow to elaborate several suggestions on how to improve the programme in order to provide lacking information in Latvia on the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework directive of European Union, and to advise local municipalities in their coastal waste management practices. The suggestions include the increasing number of monitoring sites, a prioritization of the EU Master list classification protocol and an increase of sites with higher frequency of monitoring (3 times per year). Moreover, in the conducted public survey, the beach visitors demonstrated good understanding of marine litter and highly prioritized the issue. The increased interest can add public participation to further development of this applied here citizen science approach.

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“…Three groups of "Paraffin or wax pieces" (100_108 to 100_111 according to their size) are also included in the OSPAR Beach Litter Monitoring Program under the category "other pollutants" (OSPAR Commission, 2010), even if these items were later omitted from statistical analysis (Schulz et al, 2015(Schulz et al, , 2017, as "not always easily and consistently identified, and generally not considered as "litter" or "debris" but as chemical pollution" (van Franeker, 2013). Data extracted from the OSPAR Beach Litter Database (freely retrieved from https://www.mcsuk.org/ospar/), show that between 2001 and 2016, paraffin or wax pieces (visually identified as such) were found in 371 out of 2,824 litter surveys performed on 151 different beaches, with a mean estimated abundance-when the wax was present-of 14.6 items per meter of strandline (max 738 items/m).…”

Section: Wax In the Marine Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Occurrence of Paraffin and Other Petroleum Waxes in the Marine Environment: A Review of the Current Legislative Framework and Shipping Operational Practices

et al. 2018

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Among the various materials that make up marine debris, lumps of petroleum waxes such as paraffin and microcrystalline wax, are regularly found on beaches worldwide, although not included in the current definition of marine litter. Ingestion by marine organisms is occasionally documented in the scientific literature and mass beaching events are frequently reported along the European coasts, with obvious detrimental consequences to the local communities that have to manage the clean-up and disposal of this substance. According to Annex II of the MARPOL regulation, petroleum waxes are classified as "high viscosity, solidifying, and persistent floating products," whose discharge at sea of tank-washing residues is strictly regulated, but currently permitted within certain limits. Starting from the description of a large stranding event occurred along the Italian coasts in 2017, we review the existing knowledge and regulatory framework and urge the relevant authorities to address this issue, showing that wax pollution is creating evident damages to the European coastal municipalities. Pending further investigations on the potential hazard that this kind of pollution is posing to marine ecosystems, we suggest a careful and more stringent revision of the policies regulating discharges of these products at sea.

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Statistical analyses of the results of 25 years of beach litter surveys on the south-eastern North Sea coast

Cited by 57 publications

References 30 publications

Beach macro-litter monitoring on southern Baltic beaches: results, experiences and recommendations

Beach macro-litter monitoring on southern Baltic beaches: results, experiences and recommendations

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

The Occurrence of Paraffin and Other Petroleum Waxes in the Marine Environment: A Review of the Current Legislative Framework and Shipping Operational Practices

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