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Maritime ports and beach management as sources of coastal macro-, meso-, and microplastic pollution

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Abstract

Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue that affects coasts all around the world. Many studies point out the importance of a better management of this type of pollution. In this pioneering study, we have analyzed the distribution of macro-, meso-, and microplastics along the coast of Asturias (southwest Bay of Biscay, Spain). Significant correlation analysis suggests that mesoplastics are produced in situ by fragmentation of macroplastics. Differences between groups of beaches revealed the importance of maritime ports and fishing activities as sources of macroplastics and likely of microplastics as well. Another source of microplastics could be atmospheric deposition, especially for fibers. Multiple regression model allowed to confirm the utility of beach services like cleaning and trash bins to control macroplastics. These results emphasize the need of an integral treatment of marine plastic pollution involving fishers and maritime ports, as well as the importance of providing beach services.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Tabata Bezzo for her help with beach litter sampling. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable help to improve the manuscript.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Funding

This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Grant BLUEPORTS CGL-2016-79209-R; the Ministry of Science and Innovation, Grant GLOBALHAKE PID2019-108347RB-I00; and the Government of Asturias, Grant IDI-2018-000201. AA holds a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral reincorporation fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Functional Biology, University of Oviedo, 33006, Oviedo, Spain

    Paula Masiá, Alba Ardura, Mario Gaitán, Steve Gerber, Fernando Rayon-Viña & Eva Garcia-Vazquez

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  1. Paula Masiá
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  2. Alba Ardura
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  3. Mario Gaitán
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  4. Steve Gerber
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  5. Fernando Rayon-Viña
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  6. Eva Garcia-Vazquez
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Contributions

PM wrote the original draft and developed the research idea, data collection, and data analysis. MG, SG, FRV, and PM did the macroplastic collection. EGV and AA developed the research supervision, writing review and editing. EGV developed the research idea, data analysis and funding acquisition. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Paula Masiá.

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Masiá, P., Ardura, A., Gaitán, M. et al. Maritime ports and beach management as sources of coastal macro-, meso-, and microplastic pollution. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 30722–30731 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12821-0

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