Tatjana%20hema unepmap

MONITORING MARINE LITTER IN THE MEDITERRANEAN by byy TATJANA HEMA, MEDPOL programme officer UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat FishGear Project , Athens 13 May 2014

1

State of Play Marine litter assessment in the Mediterranean

1.

Useful data exists but not inconsistent and geographically restricted mainly to North 2. Most of ML is from LBS; o Recreational/Tourism activities : plastics (bottles, bags, caps/lids, cans and glass) o Households H h ld related l t d waste t iincluded l d d sanitary it 3. Beaches ML originates from shoreline and recreational activities : plastics (bottles, bags, caps/lids etc.), cans and glass (bottles) 4. ML from smoking related activities accounts for 40% (collected items) much higher than the global average.

5. Floating marine litter: plastics account for about 83.0%, 6. Textiles, paper, metal and wood account 17% 7. Important knowledge gaps from sea based sources

2

Regional Plan objectives and ECAP targets Objectives ( ML RP) Prevent Reduce Remove Manage Enhance

ML Generation to the minimum ML and its impacts existing ML to the extent possible ML in accordance with accepted international and regional standards and approaches knowledge about ML sources sources, quantities and impacts ML ECAP Targets (COP 18, 2013)

• • •

Decreasing trend in the number of ML items deposited on the coast Decreasing trend in the number of ML items in the water surface and the seafloor Decreasing trend in the cases of entanglement or/and a decreasing trend in the stomach content of the sentinel species

3

ML RP MANAGEMENT MEASURES Pollution Pollution SCP Measures Existing Strict Implementation Reporting Cooperation

Control Measures Prevention Measures Widely agreed ML removal Timetables Flexibility Obligations with regional Partners a must

ML RP Assessment&Monitoring&Reserach 1.

1 2.

3.

4 4.

5.

6.

Assess status of ML every 6 years Integrated Monitoring Programme/Guidance (ECAP) 2015 ML Regional Data bank by 2016 R i Regional l ML M Monitoring it i E Expertt group b by 2014 National ML Monitoring Programme by 2016 Agreed list of topics requiring research to: Improve knowledge gap Support measure implementation

4

SPECIFIC ML MANAGEMENT MEASURES 1.

2.

3 3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

9 10.

No-special-fee approach where appropriate Fishing for Litter system, Gear marking to indicate ownership Compulsory national programmes on the removal of existing marine litter and its disposal National Beach Cleanup Campaigns; Participate in International Coastal Cleanup Campaigns; Adopt-a-Beach practices Enforcement measures Adequate dequate po portt reception ecept o facilities ac t es Adequate solid waste management

5

Proposed ML Monitoring

Major elements ( under negotiations by the CP) 1. Proposal largely based on UNEP guidance and “Guidance on Monitoring g of Marine Litter in European Seas�

2. Sampling strategy/site selection: St tifi d randomised Stratified d i d sampling li strategy t t compatible with a risk-based approach 3. Quality control and assurance measures: interinter calibrations, reference material, training for operators , etc 4. Building on existing national practices 5. Voluntary schemes- importance of awareness raising, i i efficient ffi i t use off data d t collected ll t d

6

Beach Litter To enable temporal and spatial comparisons within and across regions: •

Standard litter survey methods where possible applied at all levels (local to regional)

•

Agreed list of categories of ML items

•

Quality assurance and quality control primarily targeted at education of the field t teams t ensure consistent to i t t surveys.

•

Focus on communication & training of country/regional/local survey teams critical to survey integrity Removal and disposal of litter

•

7

SAMPLING AND FREQUENCY OF MONITORING : TWICE A YEAR (SPRING/AUTUMN) AND IDEALLY FOUR TIMES A YEAR; ONE SECTION OF COASTLINE OF 100M AND 2 SECTIONS OF COASTLINE OF 100M AS OPTIMUM FOCUS ON HEAVILY LITTERED AREAS 50M TRANSECTS FOR HEAVILY POLLUTED AREAS, WITH A NORMALIZATION FACTOR UP TO 100 M,, TO ENSURE COHERENCE THRESHOLDS BETWEEN HEAVILY AND MODERATELY LITTERED BEACH CATEGORIES TO BE DEFINED AND AGREED COMMONLY

8

Floating Litter Monitoring • • • • • • • • •

The monitoring of floating marine litter in selected (short-10 m ) coastal transects Monitoring Marine Litter suspended in the middle water column not recommended Monitored size categories should include a range covering relevant small items ( 2,550cm) High densities areas to consider Monitoring to take into account sea condition Trend monitoring to take into account sources Main method: visual monitoring ( ships of opportunity) with a dedicated observer Record necessary metadata: items/km2 per each Litter category; geo-reference f and wind speed data Visual observation equipment, PC, GPS,etc

9

Other Floating Litter Monitoring Methods •

Open sea surveys; aerial surveys, net tow surveys for macro litter, riverine litter , new methodologies

Monitoring Micro-plastics,- a challenge: • •

scarce information& technical difficulties minimum microplastics size - 330μm;

Quality assurance •

Regional Protocol t monitoring floating litter required q

•

Quality assurance approaches to be developed at regional and implemented at national levels through g MEDPOL.

10

Seafloor Litter Monitoring Shallow sea-floor (<20m) • Annual frequency, 2 -line random transects, god spatial coverage; detectability model • Use of volunteers in shallow waters surveys Sea-floor (20-800m): Trawling (MEDITS protocol) (difficulties in rocky areas and soft sediments) • Selection of monitoring sites: avoid risks; sensitive areas, do not impact endangered species • Detecting trends, Data recording and Management • Common Litter categories list for Sea-floor • On regular basis - between may and july • Complementary C l t sea-floor fl monitoring it i – Video Vid camera • Fish stock surveys to be used for litter monitoringcommon protocol t l tto be b agreed; d quality lit assurance programme to be implemented • Other opportunities( offshore, marine reserves, bi di biodiversity it programmes))

11

Quality Assessment /Quality Control ( sea floor)

1 Fish stock surveys for benthic litter monitoring1. monitoring adequate approach-The adoption of a common protocol is necessary 2. Data on litter in shallow sea-floor are collected through protocols already validated for benthic species.

3. For MEDITS, sampling data are collected in the DATRAS database and participate in data quality checking h ki ffor h hydrographical d hi l and d environmental i t l conditions. This process may also support quality insurance for data on litter.

4. System to collect, validate and organize data through h h a common platform, l f enabling bli the h review i and validation of data. ( MED POL data bank to be established)

12

Litter in biota • sea sea-turtles turtles and sea birds ( the latter while using opportunistic monitoring of seabirds including of marine mammals in line with biodiversity related g) common indicators monitoring) • Continuous sampling is required • Ingested litter: Different picture in the p g, others are Mediterranean ( some implementing, considering; some countries have NGOs working on this ; • Evident need to work together with specific institutes able to analyse the stomach content, • Need for training capacity • Biota entangled by litter: differences on subregional scale on number of stranded animals

13