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Shipping and fishing vessels as sources of marine plastic debris for the Seychelles
Summary
Scientists tracked ocean currents to figure out where the plastic trash piling up on Seychelles' beaches actually comes from, and found that most of it comes from fishing boats operating in the islands' own waters, plus cargo ships passing along major shipping routes—not from litter washing in from far-off lands. This matters because it means local governments could make a real dent in the problem by targeting nearby fishing fleets and shipping lanes, and it's a reminder that the seafood and marine environment we depend on are swimming in plastic debris that can break down into the microplastics increasingly found in our food and water.
Large quantities of plastic pollution are accumulating at small island nations across the western Indian Ocean. Despite a historical focus on terrestrial inputs, recent research suggests that most pollution arriving at some islands may come from fishing and shipping activity. We use a 2D Lagrangian particle-tracking model, combined with satellite-tracked shipping and fishing data, to identify major fisheries and shipping lanes which are responsible for plastic debris beaching at the Seychelles. Virtual particles, representing plastic debris, are released monthly over multiple decades and are advected by currents from a 1/50°(∼2 km) regional ocean model. We find most fishing debris originates from within the Seychelles' own exclusive economic zone, and sources of shipping debris are concentrated along major shipping routes. Sources vary seasonally, due to wind-induced reversals of surface currents between monsoons. Finally, we find variation in the quantity and seasonality of debris accumulation on a sub-island scale. Therefore, higher-resolution models that resolve local currents and kilometre scale islands may play a vital role in clean-up and management efforts.