Marine litter pollution along sandy beaches of Can Gio coast, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Marine debris is a significant threat to the marine environment, human health and the economy in Can Gio island, Vietnam. In this study, we conducted beach litter surveys to quantify and characterize marine litter from six beach transects in this region for the first time using the OSPAR beach litter monitoring guideline. A total of 29,456 items weighting 529,432 g was recorded from 12 surveys in two monitoring campaigns in December 2019 (dry season) and in June 2020 (rainy season). Plastic was the most abundant type of litter in terms of quantity (a total of 26,662 items) and weight (325,606 g), followed by paper and cardboard, cloth, wood, metal, glass and ceramics, rubber and other items. Meanwhile, ropes (less than 1 cm in diameter) and plastic bags accounted for the major parts of sampled plastic items, i.e., 20.18% and 14.46%, respectively. In general, a higher percentage of marine litter, particularly the fishing related items, was found in the rainy season than in the dry season, possibly due to increased fishing and aquaculture activities. In contrast, a reduction pattern of the single use plastics in the rainy season might be due to the decreased tourism activities during the Covid pandemic period. This study not only showed the magnitude of litter pollution, but also provided valuable information that could help decision making to better control and reduce marine litter in the region. In addition, insights from this study indicate that there is an urgent need to design collection, reuse and recycling programs in the area. The collected recyclables, specially plastics, will be a great source of materials for recyclers in a circular economy achieving sustainable development goals.

Abandoned, Lost or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) in Tuna Pole-and-Line Fisheries

The fishing industry is recognized as one of the primary sources of at-sea marine litter, largely through its contributions via abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). Individual fleet’s contributions to ALDFG vary significantly across this global industry. While much information is available for some fisheries, the rate of ALDFG remains poorly known for many techniques. In this study, we used data collected by fisheries observers onboard pole-and-line fishing vessels in the Azores (Atlantic Ocean) and the Maldives (Indian Ocean) to provide an accurate and representative estimate of ALDFG for this gear. Our analysis of 993 fishing events demonstrated ALDFG contributions much lower than have been recorded for any other commercial tuna fishing gear. Overall, we found that an angler loses some monofilament line in 1.4% (±0.2) of fishing events. This informs that for every thousand tonnes of tuna harvested using this fishing technique, 0.3 kg of nylon is entering the marine environment. Globally, we estimate that all pole-and-line fisheries together contribute to 96 kg ± 42.6 kg of ALDFG per year. These results further evidence the low environmental impact of this traditional fishing practice, as well as the need for other methods to convert to less damaging gears.