Impacts of marine litter on cetaceans: a focus on plastic pollution

Marine litter has become a pervasive pollution problem affecting all of the world's seas. It is widely documented that marine litter, in particular plastic, has negative impacts on marine wildlife, primarily due to ingestion and entanglement. Since most cetacean species (more than 66%) are adversely affected by this pollution, this chapter is devoted to defining the impact of marine plastic pollution on cetaceans, including current knowledge, methodologic advances, and new data available on this emerging issue. The final objective of this chapter is also to identify key knowledge gaps and establish priority research and mitigation recommendations.