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Marine Litter, Plastic, and Microplastics on the Seafloor
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This review examines marine litter, plastic debris, and microplastics accumulating on the seafloor from intertidal zones to hadal depths, emphasizing that the seafloor is a major long-term sink for plastics denser than seawater. It discusses monitoring challenges across different seabed types and highlights abandoned fishing gear as a key seafloor litter component that entangles marine fauna.
Given that approximately half of the plastics produced is heavier than seawater, the seafloor, from intertidal to abyssal and hadal depths, is an important long-term sink for marine macro and microplastics. Some seafloor areas can be difficult to monitor due to differences in the seabed, such as, structures and types, which can be sandy, muddy, or rocky. A range of different approaches may be used to cost effectively monitor seafloor areas, such as, using simple litter quantification protocols based on existing fish stock surveys. Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear, also called as, ALDFG is one of the major components of sea-based marine litter and seafloor litter. One of the main impacts of marine litter on the seafloor is entanglement by marine fauna. Because litter on the seafloor is usually not retrieved, monitoring it will tend to reflect accumulation processes.
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