A Comprehensive First Baseline for Marine Litter Characterization in the Madeira Archipelago (NE Atlantic)

Abstract

Marine litter is currently worldwide distributed, and plastic is its principal component. Nevertheless, to date, little is known about how this global threat is affecting the marine coastal areas of the Madeira archipelago (NE Atlantic). In this context, we conducted the first comprehensive survey for marine litter characterization in the region, by addressing micro-litter (0.010– 5 mm), meso-litter (5–25 mm) and macro-litter (> 25 mm). Our results confirmed that the marine litter issue in Madeira Archipelago is well aligned with what is occurring in other global regions, and plastic is the major component of marine litter, with “plastic-polystyrene” being the most common macro-litter category found. Finally, the different protection status of the sampling areas shows some differences regarding the quantity of macro-litter present as litter abundance in a Marine Protected Area located in the north coast of Madeira has registered lower abundances.