Outline

1. Impact of marine debris on coastal ecosystems

A. What is marine debris?

B. Where does it come from?

C. What impacts does it have?

D. How can we clean it up?

What is marine debris?

“Persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment” – NOAA

What is marine debris?

Macro and micro

What is marine debris?

Macro and micro

What is marine debris?

Secondary impacts – photodegradation and leaching

80% of debris comes from land-based activities - plastics 20% are dumped by ships, boaters, offshore rigs - fishing nets

Marine Debris Sources

Ships, rigs

Land-based

Where does it come from?

Where does it come from?

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Where does it come from?

Rio Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Where does it come from?

Rio La Plata, Puerto Rico

What impacts does it have?

• entanglement

• starvation or ruptured organs

• block sunlight

• food web structure

• absorb harmful pollutants

• asthetics

How can we clean it up?

• Ocean Roomba

How can we clean it up?

• Ocean Cleanup Array - an anchored network of floating

booms and processing platforms

Read more: 19-Year-Old Student Develops Ocean Cleanup Array That Could Remove

7,250,000 Tons Of Plastic From the World's Oceans | Inhabitat

How can we clean it up?

• Storm drain filters

How can we clean it up?

How can we clean it up?

• Assessing and Monitoring Floatable Debris

• Coastal Cleanup

• Laws and Regulations

• Changing behaviors that lead to marine debris

How can we clean it up?

• Trash Free Waters Action Plan 2014,

EPA, San Juan Bay Estuary Program, PRRP

Discussion

• Where does marine debris have more impact – open ocean or coastal zone?

• Do we know all the impacts?

• What mitigation measures are viable?

• At what scale should mitigation take place?

Further reading • Eriksen, M., Lebreton, L. C. M., Carson, H. S., Thiel, M., Moore, C. J., Borerro, J. C., … Reisser, J. (2014). Plastic Pollution in the

World’s Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea. PLoS ONE, 9(12), e111913. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111913

• Zettler, E. R., Mincer, T. J., & Amaral-Zettler, L. A. (2013). Life in the “plastisphere”: microbial communities on plastic marine debris. Environmental Science & Technology, 47(13), 7137–46. http://doi.org/10.1021/es401288x

• Baztan, J., Carrasco, A., Chouinard, O., Cleaud, M., Gabaldon, J. E., Huck, T., … Vanderlinden, J.-P. (2014). Protected areas in the Atlantic facing the hazards of micro-plastic pollution: first diagnosis of three islands in the Canary Current. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 80(1-2), 302–11. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.12.052

• Hajszan, T., & Leranth, C. (2010). Bisphenol A interferes with synaptic remodeling. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 31(4), 519–30. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2010.06.004

• Mankidy, R., Wiseman, S., Ma, H., & Giesy, J. P. (2013). Biological impact of phthalates. Toxicology Letters, 217(1), 50–58. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427412014051

• Oros, D. R., Jarman, W. M., Lowe, T., David, N., Lowe, S., & Davis, J. A. (2003). Surveillance for previously unmonitored organic contaminants in the San Francisco Estuary. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 46(9), 1102–10. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(03)00248-0

• Stewart, M., Olsen, G., Hickey, C. W., Ferreira, B., Jelić, A., Petrović, M., & Barcelo, D. (2014). A survey of emerging contaminants in the estuarine receiving environment around Auckland, New Zealand. The Science of the Total Environment, 468-469, 202–10. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.08.039