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Characterization of Seafloor Marine Litter Distribution in a Shipping Route of Ancon Bay
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Researchers used a remotely operated vehicle to conduct the first scientific survey of benthic marine litter distribution along a shipping route in Ancon Bay, Peru, finding plastic items dominated the seafloor debris. The study demonstrates the value of systematic ROV surveys for characterizing marine litter in shipping corridors and provides baseline data for a South American coastal zone.
Marine litter on the seafloor has been increasing for several decades. Moreover, shipping routes and fishing ports are considered as affected areas with benthic macro-litter distribution. In Peru, the available information about benthic litter is limited and only originates from cleaning campaigns. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct the first scientific report about benthic macro-litter occurrence and composition distributed in a shipping route of Ancon Bay. For this purpose, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was used to evaluate the marine litter composition and distribution at depths between 1 and 25 m. A total of 8.8 h of video transects were recorded, and 46 litter items were identified, where plastic represented 80.4%; and industry food and single-use bags were the most frequent items. Plastic fragments and food industry bags dominated areas closer to San Francisco Grande mud sandy beach and the anchorage zone, respectively, while non-plastic items were more common in front of rocky shores. The present work emphasizes the importance of the studies about benthic marine debris for better decision-making regarding litter management. It also highlighted the usefulness of low-cost ROVs in identifying different litter items in shallow areas.
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This review examined the state of the art for detecting and removing marine litter from the seafloor, finding that while surface and beach litter has received substantial attention, seafloor litter remains understudied and that emerging technologies including underwater robotics offer promising future cleanup pathways.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.