Van Acoleyen, M.

Veiga, J.M.

Volckaert, A.

Open Marine Archive

73 
 
SOURCES AND PATHWAYS FOR MARINE LITTER : BOTTOM UP 
APPROACH STARTING FROM LOCAL CASE-STUDIES FOR THE FOUR 
EUROPEAN REGIONAL SEAS  
Annemie Volckaert (*)1, Joana Mira Veiga2 & Mike Van Acoleyen1 
1 ARCADIS Belgium 
Kortrijksesteenweg 302, 9000 Gent, Belgium 
E-mail: a.volckaert@arcadisbelgium.be  
2  Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC)  
P.O. Box 11232 EE Leiden, The Netherlands 
E-mail: j.veiga@eucc.net   
 
Marine Litter is a global issue, affecting all the major bodies of water on the planet, from 
the surface to the sea-bottom. It can negatively impact wildlife, habitats, the economic 
health and burden of coastal communities and maritime activities but also become an 
issue of public safety, considering the emerging concerns over ingestion of microplastics 
by marine particle feeders (Davison & Asch, 2011; Murray & Cowie, 2011). Plastic 
revolutionised society in many ways, due to its versatility, lightweight, durability and low 
cost of production but due to its large scale use and extreme persistence in the 
environment it represents a considerable fraction of marine litter and the one that tends 
to receive more attention.  Marine plastic litter poses therefore a complex and multi-
dimensional societal challenge, requiring adjustments in the different phases of life-cycle 
and across sectors. 
The European Commission has recently launched three studies to gather strategic 
information and support the implementation of the European Marine Strategy Framework 
Directive (MSFD) requirements on marine litter and further develop the policy framework 
for this issue. One of them is entitled Pilot project – plastic recycling cycle and marine 
environmental impact – Case-studies on the plastic cycle and its loopholes in the four 
European regional seas areas.  
 
The main objective of this project is to pinpoint the major possible sources of marine 
litter in four study-sites, representative for each of the four European seas. The case-
studies illustrate the process of litter and waste entering the marine environment. They 
indicate the main loopholes in the local material and waste cycles and identify which 
economic sectors or actors are the main sources of marine litter. Furthermore the study 
designs a set of feasible measures to address the loopholes. Based on multi criteria 
analysis four sites are selected: Riga (Latvia- Baltic Sea), Oostende (Belgium-North Sea), 
Barcelona (Spain-Mediterranean) and Constanta (Romania-Black Sea). These areas include 
river discharge, commercial ports and important coastal cities. Though the approach and 
methodologies used in the different sites are consistent and comparable, they have been 
adjusted to different cultural and economic contexts. Distinct profiles of marine litter lead 
to adapted sets of measures to meet the local needs. 
This paper will present the results obtained so far in the project, providing the case-study 
of Oostende as an illustrative example of the main types of litter found in coastal and 
marine environment and the process of identification of their main sources, pathways and 
loopholes in this area, together with potential measures that could be used to avoid litter 
to enter the marine environment. This process included a participatory approach to 
gather local knowledge and obtain a concerted view on where, how and why (mainly 
plastic) litter is entering the marine environment in the area. It included as well the design 
of an adequate mixture of policy measures and strategies, targeting different key sectors 
and material flow phases. Finally, this set of measures will undergo an assessment of 
feasibility, in order to evaluate its economic, administrative and institutional implications. 
 
 
74 
 
References  
 
Davison P., Asch R.G. 2011. Plastic ingestion by mesopelagic fishes in the North Pacific Subtropical 
Gyre. Marine Ecology Progress Series 432:173-180. 
Murray F., Cowie P. 2011. Plastic Contamination in the decapod crustacean Nephrops norvegicus. 
Marine Pollution Bulletin 62(6):1207-17. 
  


Sources and pathways for marine litter: Bottom up approach starting from local case-studies for the four European regional seas

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