Toolkit for monitoring marine litter and its impacts on biodiversity in Mediterranean MPAs

Marine litter is a major issue especially in the Mediterranean, as it endangers not only wildlife and ecosystems, but also has serious socio-economic impacts. The assessment of marine litter presence in coastal and marine areas, as well as their impacts on biota, especially on endangered species through ingestion and entanglement, is fundamental to support the achievement of conservation goals especially for Mediterranean MPAs.

Aim of the tool

The aim of this operational toolkit is to contribute to the fight against marine litter in Mediterranean MPAs by providing a harmonised, consistent and comprehensive approach to marine litter assessments.

Main objectives

The objective of this toolkit is to provide a compilation of all the protocols needed to implement the Plastic Busters MPAs harmonised marine litter monitoring strategy, which covers the presence and impact of marine litter in pelagic and coastal Mediterranean MPAs, with a special emphasis on marine species, including those that are endangered (e.g. cetaceans, sea turtles, birds, endangered sharks, etc.).

Technological infrastructure

For each monitoring protocol, a detailed and comprehensive list of the necessary technological requirements is presented. For example, the use of (underwater) digital cameras and hand-held GPS units with extra batteries (ideally rechargeable batteries) for the majority of protocols are identified, as well as an oceanographic flowmeter and a stereomicroscope for sample separation for monitoring micro-litter on the sea surface using manta net tows. Digital scales (ideally with a 1 g precision) may also be necessary for weighing. Where remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are employed, an underwater acoustic tracking position system (USBL) is recommended to provide a detailed geographical and depth position of ROVs along transects, in addition to an automatic depth system (auto depth) and at least two laser beams at known distance, to use as a metric scale. Stereomicroscope with image analysis software and FTIR or Raman spectroscopy with associated analysis software are also necessary to analyse ingestion.

Training

The implementation of this toolkit requires adequate knowledge and expertise, depending on the specific protocol and techniques used. Expertise is particularly needed in relation to sample analysis, ROV use and the organisation, implementation and data collection by scuba-divers and snorkelers.

Regional online training sessions on harmonised marine litter monitoring protocols have been organised in the context of the project Plastic Busters MPAs. Training aimed to transfer knowledge gained on harmonised ML monitoring approaches and methodologies, to MPA managers and staff members.

Investment

The human resources, equipment and material necessary varies depending on the applied protocol. These resources are described in more detail in the Toolkit for monitoring marine litter.

Concept

This toolkit is a compilation of a series of harmonised protocols to monitor marine litter in Mediterranean MPAs, covering methodologies for monitoring:

• Macro-litter on beaches
• Micro-litter in beach sediments
• Macro-litter on the sea-surface with visual observation by small- and medium-sized vessels
• Micro-litter on the sea-surface using manta net tows
• Macro-litter on the seafloor with bottom trawl surveys
• Macro-litter on the seafloor with visual surveys with scuba/snorkelling in shallow coastal waters (0-30 m)
• Macro-litter on the seafloor with ROV in the deep sea
• Macro-litter and micro-litter ingestion in invertebrates, fish, sea turtles, seabirds and marine mammals
• Identifying marine litter hotspots on beaches

For each monitoring protocol, details are presented in the toolkit on how to select sites, the recommended frequency and timing of surveys, the sampling unit, litter size limits to be surveyed, how to perform litter analyses and classifications, how to establish reporting units and the list of equipment and material along with the sampling and recording sheets.

Pilot areas

The monitoring methods described within this toolkit have been adapted to address the specificities of the three main types of protected areas to be investigated:

1. Large pelagic and coastal protected areas (i.e., the SPAMI Pelagos Sanctuary, between Italy and France)
2. Medium-scale MPAs (i.e., the Tuscan Archipelago, in Italy)
3. Small-scale MPAs (i.e., the Cabrera National Park in Spain, and the National Marine Park of Zakynthos in Greece).

Implementation Dates

For each protocol, the specific timeline is detailed in terms of frequency and timing of surveys. In general, most protocols require monitoring to be performed at least twice per year. Monitoring ingestion in invertebrates and fish should be performed once per year.

A thorough description of each protocol is presented in the toolkit, including the methodology to implement it in an effective way as well as possible difficulties and challenges. A general consideration, valid for all protocols, is that the survey should not pose any threat to endangered or protected species (e.g., sea turtles, seabirds or shore birds, marine mammals) and their habitats (e.g., sensitive beach vegetation). In many cases, this would exclude protected areas but it largely depends on local management arrangements.

The comprehensive implementation of these protocols may require human and financial resources to ensure the adequate level of expertise and the necessary technical equipment. Moreover, weather conditions may pose challenges to performing data collection activities.

Lastly, the accurate estimation of litter items/km2 while monitoring macro-litter in the seafloor with bottom trawl surveys can be difficult, as it requires the estimation of the “swept area” during the haul, which in turn, requires specialised equipment that may not be available like acoustic devices mounted on the trawl net. Knowing, based on experience, the geometry of the gear, the skipper can advise the surveying team on effective net mouth width and height during each fishing operation.

Quantitative results

By applying the standardised protocols presented in this document, it is possible to collect harmonised, consistent and comprehensive data upon which appropriate measures can be established to achieve the set conservation goals.

Key deliverables

Standardised data on marine litter in coastal and marine areas.

Transfer potential

The protocols proposed in this document are based on the work done in the context of implementation of related EU legislation and of the Barcelona Convention. As such, they can be applied by local and national authorities, as well as by MPA managers, across the whole Mediterranean.

• This toolkit takes stock of all recent advances made by the EU MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter and the Barcelona Convention CORMON Group. Furthermore, it capitalises on the outcomes of relevant projects such as the IPA-Adriatic DeFishGear project, the EU-funded INDICIT project and Interreg Mediterranean marine litter related projects, namely the MEDSEALITTER, AMARE and ACT4LITTER.