Fulmar Litter EcoQO Monitoring in the Netherlands 1979-2008 in relation to EU Directive 200/59/EC on Port Reception Facilities

Operational and cargo related wastes from ships are an important source of litter in the marine environment in the southern North Sea and cause serious economical and ecological damage. Inadequacies in the ship to shore waste delivery procedures are considered a major factor in illegal discharges. The European Union therefore addressed the problem with the Directive on Port Reception Facilities (Directive 2000/59/EC). Obligatory waste delivery to shore and indirect financing of the costs are key-elements of the Directive to stimulate and enforce proper disposal of shipwaste in harbours. Monitoring the effect of the EU Directive is required. In the Netherlands, the Ministry of VenW commissions regular updates of Dutch data in the Fulmar-Litter monitoring database maintained by IMARES

Zwerfvuil in de Noordzee: klein afval met grote gevolgen

Zwerfvuil in zee is een groeiend economisch en ecologisch probleem. Bij een opruiming van het Texelse strand in 2005 werd 30 ton vuil verwijderd, ruim 1000 kg per kilometer. Vervolgmmetingen toonden aan dat daar per kilometer strand iedere dag opnieuw 7 tot 8 kilo afval aanspoelde. De helft daarvan is hout, de rest bijna geheel plastic, touw en net, met als belangrijkste bron scheepvaart en visserij. Strandverontreiniging vormt samen met vastgelopen scheepsschroeven en vervuilde visvangst een jaarlijkse schadepost van miljoenen euro'

Fulmar Litter EcoQO monitoring along Dutch and North Sea coasts - Update 2010 and 2011

Zwerfvuil op zee veroorzaakt ernstige economische en ecologische schade. De economische gevolgen zijn het grootst voor kustgemeentes, toerisme, scheepvaart en visserij. Dieren komen om of lijden door verstrikking in, of het opeten van afval, waarbij microscopisch kleine stukjes mogelijk gevolgen hebben voor hele voedselketens tot het niveau van de menselijke consument. In het Noordzeegebied werd het probleem van zwerfvuil duidelijk erkend toen de aangrenzende landen in 2002 besloten om OSPAR de opdracht te geven zwerfafval op te nemen in het systeem van ‘Ecologische Kwaliteits Doelstellingen (EcoQOs). In die periode werd in Nederland al graadmeter onderzoek verricht om zwerfvuil op zee te monitoren aan de hand van de hoeveelheid plastic afval in magen van een zeevogel, de Noordse Stormvogel (Fulmarus glacialis). Stormvogels fourageren alleen op open zee, en eten allerlei soorten afval van het zeeoppervlak en spugen onverteerbare delen zoals plastic niet uit in de vorm van braakballen

Fulmar Litter EcoQO Monitoring in the Netherlands 1979 - 2007 in relation to EU Directive 2000/59/EC on Port Reception Facilities

Operational and cargo related wastes from ships are an important source of litter in the marine environment in the southern North Sea and cause serious economical and ecological damage. Marine litter monitoring program using plastic abundance in stomachs of a seabird, the Northern Fulmar, was already operational in The Netherlands and was further developed also for international implementation by OSPAR as one of the 'Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs)' for the North Sea (OSPAR 2008). Fulmars are purely oceanic foragers, ingest all sorts of litter from the sea surface, and do not regurgitate poorly degrading diet components, but slowly wear these down in the stomach. Accumulated hard plastic items in stomachs of beached Fulmars thus integrate marine litter levels encountered over a number of weeks in a particular area

Save the North Sea fulmar-litter-ecoQO manual Part 1 :collection and dissection procedures

This manual describes standard procedures for the collection and dissection of beachwashed Fulmars used in the Save the North Sea (SNS)'-Fulmar study. Save the North Sea is an international project which aims to reduce marine litter through increased awareness. Fulmars ingest marine litter and accumulate rubbish such as plastics in the stomachs. Therefore, Fulmars are used as the symbol of the SNS campaign. At the same time, litter in stomach contents of Fulmars is being developed as an international monitoring tool to measure changes in levels of litter. It is one of the Ecological Quality Objectives for the North Sea (EcoQOs') which OSPAR has to implement at the request of the Ministers of North Sea countries (NSC Bergen Declaration, March 2002). This report describes standard methods for handling bird corpses in the intended Fulmar-Litter-EcoQO

Ballonnen in zee = balloons as marine litter

Releasing balloons seems harmless. However, remains of balloons, especially valves and ribbons are becoming a common and persistent type of marine litter found on beaches. Following Dutch Queens day 2007, large numbers of Dutch balloons were found in Normandy, France. Animals may become entangled in ribbons or ingest the materials. Even though balloon rubber quickly disintegrates, remains are found in 1-2% of stomachs of Northern Fulmars beached in the North Sea area. Children¿s contests, releasing balloons with name tags, are not the real problem, especially if no plastic valves and short, degradable ribbons are used. However, the vast majority of balloons released is meant for company advertising and provide just a very short moment of joy followed by a nuisance in the marine environment. environmentally friendly companies may want to reconsider such activities in future