Bethany Jorgensen

Protected areas in the Atlantic facing the hazards of micro-plastic pollution: First diagnosis of three islands in the Canary Current.

Coastal zones and the biosphere as a whole show signs of cumulative degradation due to the use and disposal of plastics. To better understand the manifestation of plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean, we partnered with local communities to determine the concentrations of micro-plastics in 125 beaches on three islands in the Canary Current: Lanzarote, La Graciosa, and Fuerteventura. We found that, in spite of being located in highly-protected natural areas, all beaches in our study area are exceedingly vulnerable to micro-plastic pollution, with pollution levels reaching concentrations greater than 100 g of plastic in 1l of sediment. This paper contributes to ongoing efforts to develop solutions to plastic pollution by addressing the questions: (i) Where does this pollution come from?; (ii) How much plastic pollution is in the worlds oceans and coastal zones?; (iii) What are the consequences for the biosphere?; and (iv) What are possible solutions?

Where Go the Plastics? And Whence Do They Come? From Diagnosis to Participatory Community-Based Observatory Network

J. Baztan, E. Broglio, A. Carrasco, O. Chouinard, F. Galgani, J. Garrabou, T. Huck, A. Huvet, B. Jorgensen, A. Liria, A. Miguelez, S. Pahl, I. Paul-Pont, R. Thompson, P. Soudant, C. Surette and J.-P. Vanderlinden Université de Versailles SQY, Guyancourt, France Marine Sciences For Society Institut de Ciències del Mar, Barcelona, Spain Observatorio Reserva de Biosfera, Arrecife, Spain Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada IFREMER, Bastia, France UBO-CNRS-LPO, Brest, France IFREMER, Plouzané, France Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States Asociación para el desarrollo sostenible y biodiversidad (ADS Biodiversidad) Plymouth University, Plymouth, United Kingdom IUEM, CNRS/UBO, Plouzané, France University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC ), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

Protected Shores Contaminated with Plastic: From Knowledge to Action

As the rate of plastic production increases globally, we see the problem of plastic debris in oceans and coastal zones also increasing, even in areas under rigorous environmental protection. Drawing from a case study situated within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, this chapter shares the example of an ongoing, collaborative partnership between community members, researchers, and decision makers, working together to confront the problem of plastic pollution locally. Since plastic debris is a complex global issue, it cannot be resolved at the local level alone. Here we also introduce a burgeoning regional working group, Communities-Based Observatories Tackling Marine Litter (COASTAL). The goal of COASTAL is to coordinate community-based efforts underway to address plastic pollution at various sites within the larger North Atlantic–Mediterranean system, and thereby expand our understanding of the plastic debris problem, and its potential solutions, at regional and local scales.