Assessment of Marine Debris on the Belgian Continental Shelf: occurrence and effects : final report (AS-MADE)

Colin Janssen; Jan Mees; Eric Stienen

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Assessment of Marine Debris on the Belgian Continental Shelf: occurrence and effects : final report (AS-MADE)

2016 Score: 30 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Colin Janssen, Jan Mees, Eric Stienen

Summary

This Belgian government report assessed marine debris on the continental shelf, finding that plastics make up 60-80% of all marine litter and that large plastic items break down into microplastics as small as 20 micrometers in water and sediment. The findings highlight the need for urgent policy action to reduce plastic entering marine ecosystems.

Study Type Environmental

Marine debris is an increasing worldwide problem, due to an ever increasing global plastic production and continuing indecent disposal. This debris is not only aesthetically displeasing, it can adversely affect marine live and even pose a (hygienical) threat to humans. Although this debris is quite variable in type, plastics account for the majority of marine litter: 60-80% of all marine debris is estimated to be plastic. Recently it has been discovered that these large pieces of plastic debris can degrade into smaller pieces: microplastics with dimensions as small as 20µm (and possibly even smaller) have been detected in the water column and sediment worldwide.

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