DISTRIBUTION, ABUNDANCE, AND SOURCE OF ENTANGLEMENT DEBRIS AND OTHER PLASTICS ON ALASKAN BEACHES, 1982-88

Sixty kilometers of outer coast beaches at 25 locations in Alaska were surveyed from 1982 to 1988 to determine distribution, composition, quantity, deposition, and source of plastic debris washed ashore. Approximately 67 % of all plastic debris found was fishing gear (e.g., net fragments, rope, floa...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Scott W. Johnson
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Subjects:
Amchitka
Amchitka Island
Yakutat
Alaska
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.460.9470
http://swfsc.noaa.gov/publications/TM/SWFSC/NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-154_P331.PDF
Description
Summary:Sixty kilometers of outer coast beaches at 25 locations in Alaska were surveyed from 1982 to 1988 to determine distribution, composition, quantity, deposition, and source of plastic debris washed ashore. Approximately 67 % of all plastic debris found was fishing gear (e.g., net fragments, rope, floats) and 33 % was packaging material (e.g., plastic bags, bottles). Debris found which could entangle marine mammals, seabirds, and fish included trawl web, rope, packing straps, and monofilament gillnet. Monofilament gillnet was not abundant (usually <5 pieces/km) on beaches, but trawl web was found on beaches throughout Alaska and exceeded 10 fragments/km at more than 50 % of the locations sampled. Foreign fisheries were the source of most (98%) of the monofilament gillnet washed ashore; the source of trawl web is shifting from foreign to domestic fisheries. Trends in composition and abundance of plastic debris were monitored at three sites: Amchitka Island, Middleton Island, and Yakutat. Amchitka Island had similar quantities (-300 items/km) of total plastics in 1982 and 1987, although the amount of trawl web at this site continued to increase. Quantities of plastic debris on Middleton Island remained similar from 1984 to 1987 (average 860 items/km), with the exception of an approximate 33% decline in 1985 from the 4-year average. Near Yakutat, the quantity of trawl web deposited ashore increased from 8.8 to 10.1 fragments/km/year from 1985 to 1988. Continuing the surveys of these benchmark beaches will help determine whether recent mitigating legislation is effective in reducing the disposal of entanglement debris and other plastics at sea.

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