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Assessment of seafloor marine litter along the Montenegrin coast through Fishing for Litter initiatives
Summary
A six-year fishing-for-litter survey of the Montenegrin seafloor in the southern Adriatic found an average marine litter density of 261 items per square kilometer, with the highest concentrations near the shoreline in Boka Kotorska Bay at depths of 35–40 meters. Plastic was the dominant litter category, with most debris attributed to coastal urbanization and river inflows rather than fishing activities.
This paper presents an assessment of the amount, composition and spatial distribution of seafloor marine litter in the southern part of the Adriatic Sea (GSA 18). Surveys were performed during a six-year period (2019-2024) from 24 hauls. Sampling was carried out using a bottom trawl during regular fishing activities (Fishing for Litter - FFL). Seafloor marine litter was classified into nine main categories (plastic, metal, rubber, cardboard/paper, textile/natural fibres, glass/ceramics, processed wood, and two categories of unclassified waste) in the laboratory of the Institute of Marine Biology, Kotor. The total average density of collected litter was 260.89 items/km2. The highest concentration of marine litter was determined in the Boka Kotorska Bay area, near the shoreline, at a depth range of 35-40 metres with an average density of 597.39 items/km2. The lowest value was recorded in the open part of the Montenegrin coast at depths of between 60 and 120 metres (148.74 items/km2). The highest concentration of marine litter near the coast is a consequence of increasingly intensive urbanisation, river inflows and the hydrological characteristics of the area. Plastic represents the dominant category in terms of the number of items, followed by metal and textiles/natural fibres. Marine litter related to fishing activities accounted for 3.34 % of the total litter collected on the seafloor.