Abstract
Marine debris (litter) is a complex problem that affects human activities and the marine environment worldwide. The Clean Coast Program in Israel has had some success in keeping most of the coasts clean most of the time, but without understanding the mechanisms of accumulation of marine debris on the coasts of Israel. In 2012, we initiated a study to characterize the types of marine debris, its origins and spatial distribution. Nineteen surveys were done from June 2012 to March 2015 on eight beaches that spanned the coast of Israel. Average debris density was 12.1 items per 100 m2and 90% of the items were plastic. The top debris categories were food wrappers and disposables, plastic bags and cigarette butts. However, there was variation in the top debris categories among the beaches indicating that a flexible approach with multiple options will be important when addressing the marine debris problem.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1036-1045 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Marine Pollution Bulletin |
Volume | 114 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 30 Jan 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2016 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Ecology
- Environmental protection
- Marine litter
- Marine pollution
- Plastic
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oceanography
- Aquatic Science
- Pollution