Institute of Marine Affairs and Resources Management, National Taiwan Ocean University, No. 2, Pei-Ning Road, Keelung 20224, Taiwan.
Department of Environmental Biology and Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, No. 2, Pei-Ning Road, Keelung 20224, Taiwan.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Aug;157:111301. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111301. Epub 2020 May 29.
Marine litter is currently one of the most widespread pollutants. However, monitoring the spatial-temporal changes of floating marine litter remains challenging. In this study, with data collected by citizen scientists, we investigated the distribution and density of floating marine litter in the waters around Taiwan. With 40 volunteers surveying 978 transects in 410 cruises from December 2017 to December 2018, the overall survey area was approximately 121.26 km (5455 km in length). We found that the mean density of floating marine litter was 90.10 ± 8.60 items/km and that the majority was plastic (63.2%). Nearly 70% of the litter was found in 30% of the surveyed area. We also identified hotspots of floating marine litter, which are at the Northwestern and Southeastern regions of Taiwan. Our study highlights the contribution of citizen science to monitor floating marine litter and provides insight into the management of marine litter.
海洋垃圾是目前分布最广泛的污染物之一。然而，监测漂浮海洋垃圾的时空变化仍然具有挑战性。在这项研究中，我们利用公民科学家收集的数据，调查了台湾周围水域漂浮海洋垃圾的分布和密度。2017 年 12 月至 2018 年 12 月期间，40 名志愿者在 410 次巡航中调查了 978 个横截线，总调查面积约为 121.26 公里（5455 公里长）。我们发现，漂浮海洋垃圾的平均密度为 90.10 ± 8.60 个/公里，其中大部分是塑料（63.2%）。近 70%的垃圾出现在调查区域的 30%中。我们还确定了漂浮海洋垃圾的热点区域，这些区域位于台湾的西北部和东南部。我们的研究强调了公民科学在监测漂浮海洋垃圾方面的贡献，并为海洋垃圾管理提供了新的见解。
