SUMIDEROS

Context

Plastic pollution represents a growing threat to the oceans, which has led European and local policies to address the issue of marine litter as a matter of urgency. These policies seek to develop preventive and mitigation solutions to minimize its impact. As the seabed has become an area for the accumulation of debris, initiatives such as the Passive Garbage Fishing, promoted by the fishing sector, have led to the identification of the abundance and typology of this debris, in compliance with the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

However, knowledge on the quantity and typology of litter is still limited, with few previous experiences such as the ITSASTEKA project (2012). This new project seeks to involve commercial trawlers to map the abundance of litter and microplastics, generating key data to contribute to European information bases such as Emodnet and comply with EU environmental directives from the Basque Country.

Objectives

The main objective of the project is to deepen the knowledge on the abundance and typology of bottom litter and microplastics inside and outside the usual fishing areas of coastal trawlers, as well as their spatial distribution in order to define maps of abundances of bottom and sea surface litter. For this purpose, a scientific campaign will be carried out on board a commercial fishing vessel.

The detailed objectives of the project are:

• To define the abundance and typology of bottom and surface litter on the Basque coast.
• To study the effect coming from the rivers at the mouths of the main rivers (3 mouths).
• To define the areas of accumulation of bottom wastes and the areas of accumulation in the surface layer of the sea water in the Basque coast.
• To study the relationship between fishing activity and the presence and abundance of bottom wastes.
• To define the waste management needs that the trawling fleet should have in order to be able to get involved in Passive Garbage Fishing.

En paralelo, se desarrollarán protocolos para poder monitorizar la basura marina recogida por los arrastreros de manera involuntaria (‘pesca pasiva de basura’) de forma sistemática de tal manera que no afecte la actividad pesquera

Expected results

1. A scientific campaign focused on marine litter in Basque waters.
2. Marine litter and bottom microplastics:
   • Abundance and concentration of marine litter and bottom microplastics by type of litter (items/km2 and kg/km2).
   • Maps showing the distribution of quantity and typology.
   • Fish communities associated with sinks.
   • Definition of areas/habitats most prone to accumulate litter.
3. Trash and microplastics in the surface and water column:
   • Abundance and concentration of marine litter and microplastics at the surface (items/km2 and kg/km2).
   • Maps showing the distribution of quantity and typology.
   • Definition of areas most prone to accumulate litter.
4. Data prepared for EMODNET and for reporting to the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive.