Plastic Marine Litter in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Marine litter, and particularly plastics, has significant impacts on the marine and coastal environment. Anthropogenic factors such as land- and sea-based activities, in addition to lack of governmental financial resources, and lack of the public's awareness are the causes of this problem. The aim of this chapter is to analyze marine litter research trends and knowledge gaps in two groups of countries of the eastern and southern Mediterranean Sea (higher-income and low- to middle-income countries), and provide an overview on the abundance of marine microplastics (MPs) and methods of analysis, along with identification of potential research topics that are needed to overcome these shortcomings. The results showed that higher-income countries not only have higher research output, but also different research trends. Low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) have recently been involved in marine litter research, with most studies focusing on either local assessment of marine litter in sediments and fauna, or laboratory experiments to assess the impact of MPs on aquatic organisms, while high income countries focus on reduction measures, large scale monitoring using harmonized protocols, and applying advanced techniques to detect source and fate of plastic marine litter including mapping, modeling, and deep learning applications.