Who cares about dirty beaches? Evaluating environmental awareness and action on coastal litter in Chile

Kiessling, Tim; Salas, Sonia; Mutafoglu, Konar; Thiel, Martín

doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.11.029

Cited by 91 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…In the South Pacific Ocean, anthropogenic marine debris (AMD) originates from the surrounding landmasses and oceanic sources (Thiel et al, 2003(Thiel et al, , 2013Kiessling et al, 2017). Especially in the eastern part of the S Pacific, litter pollution comes from land sources (e.g., Hidalgo-Ruz et al, 2018), beach-goers (Bravo et al, 2009), and marine activities including aquaculture (Astudillo et al, 2009;Hinojosa and Thiel, 2009), coastal (Perez-Venegas et al, 2017) and high seas fisheries (Kiessling et al, 2017). Rivers also contribute large amounts of macro-and microplastics (Rech et al, 2014(Rech et al, , 2015.…”

Section: Plastic Litter In the South-east Pacific Litter Sources And mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Out of the total (477 items), 8% were found in the HCS, only 3% occurred around Juan Fernandez and Desventuradas Islands, while 78 and 11% of all floating AMD were concentrated in the Oceanic and Polynesian sector, respectively. Large numbers of marine litter accumulate on beaches of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and the uninhabited island Salas and Gómez in the Polynesian sector (Kiessling et al, 2017). Furthermore, marine litter on Salas and Gómez imposes a severe risk of entanglement for several seabird species breeding on the island (Miranda-Urbina et al, 2015).…”

Section: Floating Macro-and Microplastics In the Se Pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It showed initial tissue damage, which indicates that the collar recently became attached to the animal; similar records have shown that the internal projections of plastic collars have the potential to severely damage the tissue by affecting normal feeding and ventilation (Sazima et al, 2002), followed by body deformations as the animal grows (Wegner and Cartamil, 2012). The plastic ring attached to the animal was identified as the screwing part of a plastic barrel; this type of plastic debris is most likely coming from the industrial fishery that operates in the S Pacific and is an important source of recognizable plastic litter stranding on the shores of Rapa Nui (Kiessling et al, 2017).…”

Section: Fishesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution From Continental Coasts to Subtropical Gyres—Fish, Seabirds, and Other Vertebrates in the SE Pacific

et al. 2018

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Anthropogenic Marine Debris (AMD) in the SE Pacific has primarily local origins from land-based sources, including cities (coastal and inland), beach-goers, aquaculture, and fisheries. The low frequency of AMD colonized by oceanic biota (bryozoans, lepadid barnacles) suggests that most litter items from coastal waters of the Humboldt Current System (HCS) are pulled offshore into the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre (SPSG). The highest densities of floating micro-and macroplastics are reported from the SPSG. An extensive survey of photographic records, unpublished data, conference proceedings, and published studies revealed interactions with plastics for 97 species in the SE Pacific, including 20 species of fish, 5 sea turtles, 53 seabirds, and 19 marine mammals. Sea turtles are most affected by interactions with plastics, underlined by the fact that 4 of the 5 species suffer both from entanglement and ingestion. Reports gathered in this review suggest that interactions along the continental coast are mostly via entanglement. High frequencies of microplastic ingestion have been reported from planktivorous fish and seabirds inhabiting the oceanic waters and islands exposed to high densities of microplastics concentrated by oceanic currents in the SPSG. Our review also suggests that some species from the highly productive HCS face the risk of negative interactions with AMD, because food and plastic litter are concentrated in coastal front systems. In order to improve the conservation of marine vertebrates, especially of sea turtles, urgent measures of plastic reduction are needed.

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Section: Plastic Litter In the South-east Pacific Litter Sources And mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Floating Macro-and Microplastics In the Se Pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fishesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution From Continental Coasts to Subtropical Gyres—Fish, Seabirds, and Other Vertebrates in the SE Pacific

et al. 2018

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“…Surveys to estimate macrolitter were conducted on Rapa Nui (RN) between 2014 and 2018. Samples were collected in November each year with the help of school children (for details, see also Kiessling et al, ). All macrolitter was collected on a rocky shore (Taharoa) on the northern coast of RN.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, the high seas industrial fishery is responsible for large proportions of litter consisting of nets, ropes and plastic garbage that is discarded on the high seas (e.g. Kiessling, Salas, Mutafoglu, & Thiel, ). Thus, although MPAs are proclaimed to protect biodiversity, on the other hand they are permanently threatened by the arrival of AML on their coasts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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

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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.

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A country's response to tackling plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems: The Chilean way

Urbina

Luna‐Jorquera²,

Thiel³

et al. 2020

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Marine plastic pollution is worse than expected, and we are starting to realize its full extent and severity. Solving the plastic pollution problem is not easy, as it requires the action and commitment of all sectors of our society. With a coastline extending over 4,000 km (from 18 S to 56 S), Chile is a maritime country, and since plastics are potentially harmful for marine and coastal ecosystems, food security, and public health, plastic pollution is a real threat. 2. Chile is the sixth-largest exporter of seafood (fish, invertebrates, and algae) in the world, but the extent of plastic contamination of marine organisms, its potential effects on commercial species and aquaculture, and its subsequent effects on human health are mostly unknown. 3. Chile has recently introduced some legislation to prevent plastics from reaching the environment and the coastal ocean. Governmental and non-governmental organizations have joined an informal alliance to take action against plastic pollution, both at a national and regional level, but stronger involvement of producers and commerce is required for effective measures. 4. Chilean scientists working on plastic pollution have created the Scientific Plastic Pollution Alliance of Chile network, aiming to promote collaborative and coordinated research focused on this pollutant. The wide geographical extent of Chile, with researchers working in diverse ecosystems, provides a unique opportunity to better understand the consequences of one of the most recent and severe threats to biodiversity. 5. Rather than solely presenting the plastic pollution problem from the scientific perspective, this paper includes views from different sectors of society. Mitigating plastic pollution is exceptionally complex, with this study highlighting the importance of local engagement, media, solving social inequities, new legislation, and law enforcement in order to advance on decreasing plastic pollution from a country-wide perspective.

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Who cares about dirty beaches? Evaluating environmental awareness and action on coastal litter in Chile

Cited by 91 publications

References 40 publications

Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution From Continental Coasts to Subtropical Gyres—Fish, Seabirds, and Other Vertebrates in the SE Pacific

Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution From Continental Coasts to Subtropical Gyres—Fish, Seabirds, and Other Vertebrates in the SE Pacific

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

A country's response to tackling plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems: The Chilean way

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