Monitoring marine litter on Funchal beaches (Madeira Island): insights for litter management

Bettencourt, Sara; Lucas, Carlos; Costa, Sónia; Caeiro, Sandra

Publication

Monitoring marine litter on Funchal beaches (Madeira Island): insights for litter management

2023-10Journal article

dc.contributor.author	Bettencourt, Sara
dc.contributor.author	Lucas, Carlos
dc.contributor.author	Costa, Sónia
dc.contributor.author	Caeiro, Sandra
dc.date.accessioned	2024-10-21T08:42:16Z
dc.date.available	2024-10-21T08:42:16Z
dc.date.issued	2023-10
dc.date.updated	2023-11-02T11:15:01Z
dc.description.abstract	Marine litter is a complex and multi-dimensional problem, with beach litter surveys being an important cost-effective tool for monitoring and assessing marine litter pollution. In Madeira Island (Portugal, NE Atlantic), a region awarded several times as ‘Europe’s Leading Island Destination’ and with a particular orography, there is a scarce understanding of the situation of marine debris. A two-year monitoring (July 2020 to April 2022) of macro-litter was conducted on two beaches in Funchal, the largest city and capital of the island. The abundance, composition, sources, and pathways of the stranded marine litter were assessed following OSPAR guidelines. During the two years, a total of 14,265 items were recorded. The mean litter density was found to be 0.29 items/m2 and the beaches’ clean index ranged between ‘very clean’ and ‘dirty’. Cigarette butts (30.9%) and plastic objects (30.7%) were the most frequent marine litter items, followed by paper/cardboard (9.2%) and metal items (8.3%). The composition of the litter showed that most of the monitored marine debris has a land-based source, with a strong contribution from smoking-related activities and littering in streams. By characterizing the waste and identifying its source, it was possible to propose integrated management actions at a local level. Outreach and raising awareness campaigns, together with actions to limit single-use plastic items and stimulate a circular economy, could contribute to limit marine litter on the studied island but also in other regions with similar profiles.	pt_PT
dc.description.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion	pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi	10.1016/j.rsma.2023.102991	pt_PT
dc.identifier.issn	2352-4855
dc.identifier.slug	cv-prod-3382965
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/16655
dc.language.iso	eng	pt_PT
dc.peerreviewed	yes	pt_PT
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/	pt_PT
dc.subject	Marine litter pollution	pt_PT
dc.subject	Monitoring	pt_PT
dc.subject	Marine litter pollution	pt_PT
dc.subject	Monitoring	pt_PT
dc.subject	Beaches cleanups	pt_PT
dc.subject	Land-based sources	pt_PT
dc.subject	Marine litter management	pt_PT
dc.subject	Oceanic island	pt_PT
dc.title	Monitoring marine litter on Funchal beaches (Madeira Island): insights for litter management	pt_PT
dc.type	journal article
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.citation.startPage	102991	pt_PT
oaire.citation.title	Regional Studies in Marine Science	pt_PT
oaire.citation.volume	63	pt_PT
person.familyName	Bettencourt Pereira
person.familyName	Caeiro
person.givenName	Sara
person.givenName	Sandra
person.identifier	https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=pt-PT&user=XXCDRkAAAAAJ
person.identifier	587808
person.identifier.ciencia-id	1E1C-C48E-3DFD
person.identifier.ciencia-id	8515-398A-D241
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0001-7632-4800
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0002-6079-3554
person.identifier.rid	K-3886-2014
person.identifier.scopus-author-id	6603297853
rcaap.cv.cienciaid	8515-398A-D241 \| SANDRA SOFIA FERREIRA DA SILVA CAEIRO
rcaap.rights	openAccess	pt_PT
rcaap.type	article	pt_PT
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