Characterization of microplastics in the surface waters of an urban lagoon (Bizerte lagoon, Southern Mediterranean Sea): Composition, density, distribution, and influence of environmental factors

Wakkaf, Takwa; Zrelli, Radhouan El; Kedzierski, Mikaël; Balti, Rafik; Shaiek, Moez; Mansour, Lamjed; Tlig‐Zouari, Sabiha; Bruzaud, Stéphane; Rabaoui, Lotfi

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111625

Cited by 57 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The Gulf of Gabes is a rich coastal, marine, and freshwater ecosystem with major biological resources, but it is currently under severe anthropogenic strain, especially as a potential source of plastic pollution. Along Tunisian coasts, studies on MPs presence have been mainly carried out in sediment samples (Abidli et al, 2017(Abidli et al, , 2018Chouchene et al, 2019;Missawi et al, 2020), whereas studies on MPs in waters are limited to few examples, including the waters from an urban lagoon (Bizerte lagoon, northern Tunisia, Wakkaf et al, 2020) and preliminary data from the Gulf of Gabes (Zayen et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although during the last years there has been a virtual explosion of research on MPs pollution, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, there is a significant data gap for the Southern part of the basin (Anastasopoulou and Fortibuoni, 2019;Missawi et al, 2020;Wakkaf et al, 2020). According to its physical, biogeochemical, and biological characteristics, the Gulf of Gabes in Southeast Tunisia has been identified as one of the Mediterranean Sea 11 consensus eco-regions (Ayata et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution of the Distribution and Dynamic of Microplastic in Water and Biota: A Study Case From the Gulf of Gabes (Southern Mediterranean Sea)

et al. 2022

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Marine plastic pollution represents a major problem owing to its increasing presence in the environment, persistence and ability to spread in every compartment in the form of small plastic particles, namely microplastics (MPs). Studies concerning MPs abundance in the Mediterranean Sea are growing, but their occurrence in the Southern regions remains largely unexplored. In this study, distribution, abundance, size, and polymer type of microplastics were investigated in surface water samples collected with a Manta net (200 μm mesh size) and in 118 marine specimens of commercial interests, including fishes, crustaceans, and mollusks, during Spring and Autumn 2019 EU H2020 Claim Project sampling Campaigns in the Gulf of Gabes (Southern Mediterranean Sea). Laboratory characterization showed significant plastic pollution concentrations, with an average abundance of 312,887 and 77,110 items/km2 in surface water samples collected in Spring and Autumn, respectively. A 3D hydrodynamic and Tracking Model was used to identify dispersal and transport pathways of the floating plastics, reporting a seasonal variability observed in MPs distribution between I (Spring) and II Campaign (Autumn). Despite the high values of MPs abundance found in surface water samples, an overall low frequency of ingestion among studied species was observed, with a maximum value of 20% of individuals (in Scomber scombrus) found with ingested MPs. The present study contributes to expand our state of knowledge regarding MPs pollution level in water and biota samples collected in the Gulf of Gabes, an area of particular interest for its biological resources, but still little investigated.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of the Distribution and Dynamic of Microplastic in Water and Biota: A Study Case From the Gulf of Gabes (Southern Mediterranean Sea)

et al. 2022

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“…According to Béjaoui, et al [4], the most traced elements building up in the sediments of all the area of the lagoon are Pb (35 to 100 mg.kg-1) and Zn (210 to 450 mg.kg-1). The urban pollution consists of organic and bacterial components and it results, on the one hand, from the discharges of more than 10 million m 3 of the main districts located along the shores of the lagoon and on the other hand, from untreated wastewater [22,23]. The sediments constitute the potential reservoir for diff erent bacterial populations [24] and the shores are severely contaminated.…”

Section: Urbanization Impact In Bizerta Lagoonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of the Situation of Tunisian Lagoon of Bizerta Using Marine Spatial Planning as a Key to Sustainable Blue Growth

Hamdaoui¹,

Ennouri²,

Fatnassi³

et al. 2022

J Biomed Res Environ Sci

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Bizerta lagoon is an important socio-economic pole in northern Tunisia. Its shores and maritime space host lots of human activities, such as coastal fishing, shellfish farming, maritime traffic, military activity, recreational fishing and nautical sports. These activities cause severe pollution and they result in many anthropogenic disturbances. Naturally, conflicts of interest between the different operators have always existed. However, recently these disagreements, particularly between coastal fishermen and shellfish farmers have degenerated into an act of vandalism in November 2019. Fishermen destroyed all the bivalve farms facilities and productions. This act is the result of the build-up of several factors, notably the spatial interaction between the two activities and the improper practices of the shellfish farmers, which are according to fishermen "the major source of the lagoon pollution". Despite the fact that the Tunisian government has made considerable efforts to solve this issue, mitigate this conflict, and restore shellfish farming activity in the lagoon, this event has had major socio-economical, geo-political, environmental, and technological impacts. Within this framework, the current paper aims to suggest a management plan that should improve the lagoon status and attain the desired sustainable development of all activities. Turning to Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), we propose an Allocated Zone for Aquaculture (AZA), effective governance of the lagoon and fostering of Sustainable Blue Growth (SBG). These proposals are in line with the Tunisian strategies in terms of aquaculture sustainable development, establishment of MSP along the entire Tunisian coastline and the promotion of blue economy. They also meet several sustainable blue development objectives of the United Nations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed basin with limited outflow of surface waters and a densely populated coastline, hosting a series of intensive activities (tourism, fishing, shipping, and industry) and subject to several anthropogenic pressures (Schmidt et al, 2018;Wakkaf et al, 2020). Concerning plastic pollution, it represents one of the most impacted regions of the world (Lebreton et al, 2012;UNEP/MAP, 2015;Llorca et al, 2020;Macias et al, 2021), receiving from 5 to 10% of the global plastic mass (Cózar et al, 2015;Compa et al, 2020;Wakkaf et al, 2020). As listed in Table 1, a high density of floating debris was reported since 1980s (Morris, 1980), while recently, Cózar et al (2015) have highlighted that the average plastic concentration in Mediterranean surface waters was comparable to the accumulation of plastic litter in the five subtropical gyres, contributing to define this area in the subsequent years a hot spot of plastic pollution (Suaria et al, 2016;Cincinelli et al, 2019;Avio et al, 2020), with IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) recent estimates of total accumulated plastics in the Mediterranean (surface, seafloor, water column, and coasts) ranging between 53,500 and 3,546,700 tonnes (Boucher and Bilard, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in the Mediterranean: Variability From Observations and Model Analysis

et al. 2022

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In this study, the abundance and properties (size, shape, and polymer type) of microplastics (MPs) in sea surface water samples, collected during two sampling campaigns over 2018–2019, in four coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea (Saronikos Gulf, LIgurian Sea, Gulf of Lion, and Gabes Gulf) were investigated. Coupled hydrodynamic/particle drift model simulations with basin-scale Mediterranean and high resolution nested models were used to provide a better understanding on the variability of the abundance/size of MPs, originating from wastewater and river runoff, in the four areas. Different size classes of MPs were considered in the model, taking into account biofouling induced sinking, as a possible mechanism of MPs removal from the surface. The Gabes Gulf showed the highest mean MPs abundance (0.073–0.310 items/m2), followed by Ligurian Sea (0.061–0.134 items/m2), Saronikos Gulf (0.047–0.080 items/m2), and Gulf of Lion (0.029–0.032 items/m2). Overall, the observed MPs abundance and size distribution was reasonably well reproduced by the model in the four different areas, except an overestimation of small size contribution in Saronikos Gulf. The basin-scale simulation revealed a strong decrease of smaller size MPs in offshore areas, due to biofouling induced sinking, with larger (floating) MPs being able to travel longer distances in the open sea. A significant impact of waves drift and advection of MPs from non-local sources was identified from model simulations, particularly in the Gulfs of Lion and Gabes, having a stronger effect on larger microplastics. In Gabes Gulf, most MPs originated from offshore areas, being mainly (floating) larger size classes, as suggested by the observed quite small contribution of <1 mm particles. The MPs observed abundance distribution in each area could be partly explained by the adopted sources distribution. The modeling tools proposed in this study provide useful insight to gain a better understanding on MPs dynamics in the marine environment and assess the current status of plastic pollution on basin and regional scale to further develop environmental management action for the mitigation of plastic pollution in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Characterization of microplastics in the surface waters of an urban lagoon (Bizerte lagoon, Southern Mediterranean Sea): Composition, density, distribution, and influence of environmental factors

Cited by 57 publications

References 47 publications

Evolution of the Distribution and Dynamic of Microplastic in Water and Biota: A Study Case From the Gulf of Gabes (Southern Mediterranean Sea)

Evolution of the Distribution and Dynamic of Microplastic in Water and Biota: A Study Case From the Gulf of Gabes (Southern Mediterranean Sea)

Review of the Situation of Tunisian Lagoon of Bizerta Using Marine Spatial Planning as a Key to Sustainable Blue Growth

Microplastics in the Mediterranean: Variability From Observations and Model Analysis

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