The flip-or-flop boutique: Marine debris on the shores of St Brandon's rock, an isolated tropical atoll in the Indian Ocean

Bouwman, Hindrik; Evans, Steven W.; Cole, Nik C.; Yive, Nee Sun Choong Kwet; Kylin, Henrik

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.12.013

Cited by 71 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 61 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Multiple studies sampled plastics on beaches in the Indian Ocean (Figure 1; Ryan, 1987;Slip and Burton, 1991;Madzena and Lasiak, 1997;Uneputty and Evans, 1997;Barnes, 2004;Jayasiri et al, 2013;Duhec et al, 2015;Nel and Froneman, 2015;Bouwman et al, 2016;Kumar et al, 2016;Imhof et al, 2017;Lavers et al, 2019), but because they used very different sampling methods on different timescales (Table A1), their results are difficult to compare. However, they do provide qualitative evidence that plastic is found on coastlines throughout the Indian Ocean, both on populated beaches close to plastic sources (Uneputty and Evans, 1997;Jayasiri et al, 2013;Kumar et al, 2016) as well as on remote, uninhabited coastlines and islands (Ryan, 1987;Slip and Burton, 1991;Madzena and Lasiak, 1997;Barnes, 2004;Duhec et al, 2015;Nel and Froneman, 2015;Bouwman et al, 2016;Imhof et al, 2017;Lavers et al, 2019). Which coastlines are most heavily affected by stranding plastics depends both on the location of plastic sources and the ocean dynamics in the region.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Beaching patterns of plastic debris along the Indian Ocean rim

Mheen¹,

Sebille²,

Pattiaratchi³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. A large percentage of global ocean plastic waste enters the northern hemisphere Indian Ocean (NIO). Despite this, it is unclear what happens to buoyant plastics in the NIO. Because the subtropics in the NIO is blocked by landmass, there is no subtropical gyre and no associated subtropical garbage patch in this region. We therefore hypothesise that plastics "beach" and end up on coastlines along the Indian Ocean rim. In this paper, we determine the influence of beaching plastics by applying different beaching conditions to Lagrangian particle tracking simulation results. Our results show that a large amount of plastic likely ends up on coastlines in the NIO, while some crosses the equator into the southern hemisphere Indian Ocean (SIO). In the NIO, the transport of plastics is dominated by seasonally reversing monsoonal currents, which transport plastics back and forth between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. All buoyant plastic material in this region beaches within a few years in our simulations. Countries bordering the Bay of Bengal are particularly heavily affected by plastics beaching on coastlines. This is a result of both the large sources of plastic waste in the region, as well as ocean dynamics which concentrate plastics in the Bay of Bengal. During the intermonsoon period following the southwest monsoon season (September, October, November), plastics can cross the equator on the eastern side of the NIO basin into the SIO. Plastics that escape from the NIO into the SIO beach on eastern African coastlines and islands in the SIO or enter the subtropical SIO garbage patch.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Beaching patterns of plastic debris along the Indian Ocean rim

Mheen¹,

Sebille²,

Pattiaratchi³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Unlike the litter from the fishing industry, it is less likely that the main source of these is Seychelles: there are simply too many to imagine that they originate from a population of 98,000 people. The flip-flop phenomenon is not unique to Aldabra, and other studies throughout the region have reported large numbers and speculated about their origins 29,30,40 . Duhec et al 29 mention that flip-flops are the world's simplest, cheapest and most popular shoe 41 , especially in countries that fringe the Indian Ocean, where waste management is extremely poor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The costs of removing the unsanctioned import of marine plastic litter to small island states

Burt

Raguain²,

Sanchez³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Small island states receive unprecedented amounts of the world’s plastic waste. In March 2019, we removed as much plastic litter as possible from Aldabra Atoll, a remote UNESCO World Heritage Site, and estimated the money and effort required to remove the remaining debris. We removed 25 tonnes at a cost of $224,537, which equates to around $10,000 per day of clean-up operations or $8,900 per tonne of litter. We estimate that 513 tonnes (95% CI 212–814) remains on Aldabra, the largest accumulation reported for any single island. We calculate that removing it will cost approximately $4.68 million and require 18,000 person-hours of labour. By weight, the composition is dominated by litter from the regional fishing industry (83%) and flip-flops from further afield (7%). Given the serious detrimental effects of plastic litter on marine ecosystems, we conclude that clean-up efforts are a vital management action for islands like Aldabra, despite the high financial cost and should be integrated alongside policies directed at ‘turning off the tap’. We recommend that international funding be made available for such efforts, especially considering the transboundary nature of both the marine plastic litter problem and the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity-rich islands.

show abstract

“…Blickley et al, ). Often, the majority of the stranded litter consists of buoys, fishing nets and boxes (Blickley et al, ; Bouwman et al, ; Lavers & Bond, ; Pieper, Ventura, Martins, & Cunha, ; Ribic et al, ), very similar to the items found on RN and S&G Island. Microplastics are also accumulating on oceanic islands (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Despite their protection status, many oceanic MPAs are highly exposed to plastic pollution (Barnes et al, ; Lavers & Bond, ). AML has been identified as a serious threat in various oceanic MPAs, including the Pitcairn Islands MPA, the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, and others (Barnes et al, ; Blickley, Currie, & Kaufman, ; Bouwman, Evans, Cole, Choong Kwet Yive, & Kylin, ; Lavers & Bond, ; Ribic, Sheavly, & Klavitter, ). On all these islands, large amounts of AML have been found threatening the marine biodiversity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine protected areas invaded by floating anthropogenic litter: An example from the South Pacific

Luna‐Jorquera

Thiel

Portflitt‐Toro

et al. 2019

Aquatic Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Oceanic marine protected areas (MPAs) that are close to the litter accumulation zones in the subtropical gyres receive large amounts of plastic litter, both as micro‐ and as macroplastics. The macro‐litter accumulating on the islands in the Easter Island Ecoregion (Rapa Nui and Salas y Gómez) can be traced back to the high seas industrial fishery operating in the South Pacific. Seabirds nesting in the MPAs in the South Pacific are affected by both microplastic ingestion and macroplastic in their nests, but there was no evidence of entangled birds. Conservation of seabirds (and other species) in these oceanic MPAs requires efficient measures to reduce plastic contamination in the ocean. Observations made in the South Pacific coincide with those from other oceanic MPAs, calling for global actions.

show abstract

The flip-or-flop boutique: Marine debris on the shores of St Brandon's rock, an isolated tropical atoll in the Indian Ocean

Cited by 71 publications

References 61 publications

Beaching patterns of plastic debris along the Indian Ocean rim

Beaching patterns of plastic debris along the Indian Ocean rim

The costs of removing the unsanctioned import of marine plastic litter to small island states

Marine protected areas invaded by floating anthropogenic litter: An example from the South Pacific

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About