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Decadal debris records reveal legacy accumulation and emerging fishing-derived plastic inputs across the North Pacific
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Researchers collected floating plastic debris from the North Pacific over ten years, totaling over 55,000 kg. Fishing gear made up most of the waste by weight, often traced to Japanese or Chinese labels, and most examined fishing nets appeared to come from poor waste disposal practices rather than accidental loss at sea.
Abstract Marine plastic pollution represents one of the most persistent environmental challenges of our time, yet the relative contributions of land- versus sea-based sources remain contested. Here we present a decade-long dataset (2015–2025) comprising over 55,893 kg and 272,638 items of floating debris collected across three regions: the North Pacific Garbage Patch (NPGP), the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary, and the Main Hawaiian Islands. Fishing-related gear dominated debris mass across all regions (~ 71%), with fishing gear fibers comprising the largest fraction by weight. Provenance analysis of 19,768 individually examined items points predominantly to East Asian origin, with Japanese-labelled fishing gear dominating the NPGP as a legacy signal, Chinese-labelled items dominating Hawaiian shorelines consistent with recent fleet expansion, and the near-absence of PET bottles in the NPGP reflecting their high buoyancy, elevated windage, and shorter material lifespan relative to durable polyolefins. Critically, analysis of 174 assessed fishing nets indicates that all were identified as sections of larger nets, of which 87% showed characteristics most consistent with inadequate fishing gear waste management rather than accidental loss, suggesting that routine repair and replacement operations are a key pathway by which floating fishing net fragments reach the open ocean. These findings underscore the urgency of targeting sea-based sources, particularly fishing fleet waste management practices both at sea and in port, in international plastic pollution mitigation strategies.
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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.