[Seminar] Paradise Trashed: Sources and solutions to marine litter pollution in French Polynesia
Anthropogenic marine litter pollution is a serious issue facing oceans worldwide. Limited data exists on this pollution issue for South Pacific Island nations. This study presents the first extensive baseline survey of macro-sized marine litter on Mo’orea (0.75 items m-2) and Tahiti (0.95 items m-2), French Polynesia. Locally sourced land-based catchments accounted for the greatest amount of recovered marine litter on both islands. Beverage containers and associated items, such as caps were commonly recovered. Further studies conducted on Mo’orea, demonstrated that micro-litter was prevalent (3.84 items m-2) in beach sands and that 22% of surveyed holothurians had ingested microplastics.