Preliminary research results on the incidence of plastic marine litter in the Central Mediterranean Sea

One of the major problematic issues affecting the marine environment is floating litter. This is primarily composed of a wide array of plastics-derived wastes from different sources. Entanglement and ingestion are two of the main impacts caused by floating litter on the marine biome, and marine mammals are among the species most affected. By applying both dedicated scientific surveys and the opportunistic Fixed Line Transect method during the Interreg V-A Italia-Malta SEA MARVEL project, data on the presence and abundance of plastic marine litter has been collected. This research in the central Mediterranean region, including the Maltese waters and Sicilian waters in the Gulf of Catania, and ferry routes between Catania and Malta, Porto Empedocle and Lampedusa, and Trapani and Pantelleria provide an extensive sampled area for understanding the extent and changing distribution of plastic pollution. Methods adopted included both onboard dedicated research vessels and observation on ferry platforms of opportunity, respectively. The latter SEA MARVEL research effort contributed to expanding the framework of an international network using ferries in collaboration with the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research. The dedicated research vessel investigations also collecting data on marine litter were carried out around the Maltese Islands and in the area of the Gulf of Catania in the period 2021-2022. Marine litter was categorised by size and origin and then related to environmental variables and the presence of cetaceans and sea turtles. Preliminary data shows that marine litter is constant along all routes. However, depending on currents and weather conditions, there seems to be some difference between seasons. In addition, on longer straits such as those between the Pelagie islands and Sicily, larger floating rubbish have been sighted repeatedly.