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Seafloor litter in two protected areas (Sopot and Dražin vrt) in the Boka Kotorska Bay (Montenegro, southeast Adriatic Sea)
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This study assessed seafloor marine litter pollution in two protected areas in Montenegro's Boka Kotorska Bay during 2020-2021. Despite their protected status, both sites showed high levels of plastic litter, with a mean density of 3 items/100 m², highlighting the inadequacy of current protections.
The first assesment of seafloor marine litter pollution in marine protected areas in Montenegro is presented. Surveys were performed during 2020 and 2021 year at two protected marine areas “Sopot” and “Dražin vrt”. Methodology was based on visual survey by SCUBA diving during cleaning campains. The results show dominance of plastic litter (46.91%), while considering the size classes, the most numerous was size class I (46.54%). Mean density of marine litter was 3 items/100 m2. Results indicate that both investigated MPA's are highly polluted by seafloor marine litter, what highlights the need for constant monitoring.
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Assessment of seafloor marine litter along the Montenegrin coast through Fishing for Litter initiatives
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A six-year fishing-for-litter survey of the Montenegrin seafloor in the southern Adriatic found an average marine litter density of 261 items per square kilometer, with the highest concentrations near the shoreline in Boka Kotorska Bay at depths of 35–40 meters. Plastic was the dominant litter category, with most debris attributed to coastal urbanization and river inflows rather than fishing activities.
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Floating and seabed macro- and micro-litter in the Croatian middle Adriatic Sea were simultaneously surveyed, finding average floating micro-litter concentrations of 127,000 particles per square kilometer and seabed micro-litter of 36 particles per 100 g dry weight. The study confirms that plastic pollution is widespread at all depths in this semi-enclosed Mediterranean sea.
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Researchers found that marine litter including microplastics was present in shallow sediments across Croatian Adriatic sites, with tourism-stressed areas showing higher contamination levels than marine protected areas, highlighting the influence of human pressure on plastic accumulation.
Plastic litter in sediments from the Croatian marine protected area of the natural park of Telaščica bay (Adriatic Sea)
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Researchers established baseline plastic litter levels in sediments from the Croatian Natural Park of Telascica Bay in the Adriatic Sea, finding that microplastics constituted 88.7% and mesoplastics 11.3% of total items across all sampled locations, with no macroplastics detected.
Microplastic pollution in the Adriatic Sea with an emphasis on Montenegro: Distribution, sources, methods, biota, policy, and implications
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This review pulls together research on microplastic pollution in the Adriatic Sea, finding that the coastline of Montenegro—especially enclosed spots like Boka Kotorska Bay—has notably high levels of plastic particles in its sediment and mussels, mostly from common plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene (used in bags, packaging, and bottles). This matters because mussels and seafood from these waters end up on our plates, and the researchers point out that inconsistent testing methods across studies make it hard to track how bad the problem really is or whether it's getting worse—something better monitoring could help fix.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.