PAME Work Plan

In 1988, National Marine Fisheries Service scientists collected information on type, source, and abundance of marine debris caught during annual bottom trawl surveys off Oregon, in the eastern Bering Sea, and in Norton Sound. Numbers of indi- vidual debris items caught were tallied by haul. When possible, the nationality of origin was determined. Animals entangled or associated with debris items were noted. Debris items were categorized by material (e.g., plastic, glass) and use (e.g., galley wastes, fishing equipment). Effort in square kilometers trawled was calculated for each haul from distance fished and average net width measurements. Average catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) in numbers of items per square kilometer was calculated for individual debris items, major categories, and total debris by area and for combined areas. 

Of the 696 hauls surveyed, 70 were off Oregon, 541 in the eastern Bering Sea, and 85 in Norton Sound. Marine debris was most abundant off Oregon, occurring in 70% of the hauls and averaging 149.6 items/km2. In the eastern Bering Sea, 23% of the hauls caught marine debris, for an average of 7.5 items/km2. Norton Sound had the least amount of debris. It occurred in 7% of the hauls and averaged 1.9 items/km2. Galley wastes dominated debris in Oregon (64% of the total CPUE) and in the eastern Bering Sea (40% of the total CPUE), followed by engineering/processing wastes. Fishing equipment debris was abundant in the eastern Bering Sea (1.86 items/km2) and off Oregon (1.69 items/km2), but was not found in Norton Sound. Plastic debris was found in all three areas, but was most abundant in the eastern Bering Sea. Debris of foreign origin accounted for 70% of the total CPUE of all debris found in the eastern Bering Sea; however, domestic debris dominated off Oregon (88% of the total CPUE) and in Norton Sound (100% of the total CPUE). 

Plastic, as a form of marine litter, is found in varying quantities and sizes around the globe from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Identifying patterns of microplastic distribution will benefit an understanding of the scale of their potential effect on the environment and organisms. As sea ice extent is reducing in the Arctic, heightened shipping and fishing activity may increase marine pollution in the area. Microplastics may enter the region following ocean transport and local input, although baseline contamination measurements are still required. Here we present the first study of microplastics in Arctic waters, south and southwest of Svalbard, Norway. Microplastics were found in surface (top 16 cm) and sub-surface (6 m depth) samples using two independent techniques. Origins and pathways bringing microplastic to the Arctic remain unclear. Particle composition (95% fibres) suggests they may either result from the breakdown of larger items (transported over large distances by prevailing currents, or derived from local vessel activity), or input in sewage and wastewater from coastal areas. Concurrent observations of high zooplankton abundance suggest a high probability for marine biota to encounter microplastics and a potential for trophic interactions. Further research is required to understand the effects of microplastic-biota interaction within this productive environment.

Between 1972 and 1974 plastic marine litter on ten 1-km beaches at Amchitka Island increased from 2,221 to 5,367 items—a 2·4 x increase in a two-year period. Most litter originated from Japanese and Soviet fishing vessels, but some items were from the Asian coast, at least 1,150 km distant. In 1974 there were 345 kg of common items of plastic litter per kilometre of beach. In 1972, an estimated 1,664 metric tons of plastic litter was lost or dumped from fishing vessels in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean. Stranded plastic litter persists indefinitely but rapidly becomes buried in beach material or is blown inland and covered with vegetation. The most serious environmental impact is probably entanglement of marine mammals and birds in some types of litter. The accelerating accumulation of litter could be reduced through unilateral action by countries that regulate coastal fishing privileges if these countries make litter control a condition for permission to fish.

Marine debris is a management issue with ecological and recreational impacts for agencies, especially on remote beaches not accessible by road. This project was implemented to remove and document marine debris from five coastal National Park Service units in Alaska. Approximately 80 km of coastline were cleaned with over 10,000 kg of debris collected. Marine debris was found at all 28 beaches surveyed. Hard plastics were found on every beach and foam was found at every beach except one. Rope/netting was the next most commonly found category, present at 23 beaches. Overall, plastic contributed to 60% of the total weight of debris. Rope/netting (14.6%) was a greater proportion of the weight from all beaches than foam (13.3%). Non-ferrous metal contributed the smallest amount of debris by weight (1.7%). The work forms a reference condition dataset of debris surveyed in the Western Arctic and the Gulf of Alaska within one season.