The Impact of Marine Litter in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Mediterranean Sea: How Can We Protect MPAs?

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most affected areas by marine litter in the world. Marine litter and in particular floating plastics have been found in the Mediterranean Sea in comparable quantities to those found in the five oceanic garbage patches and affect ecosystems and several species at different trophic level. A harmonized and integrated way to monitor, assess, and manage marine litter at Mediterranean level, particularly in areas of high ecological values as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), can help to monitor and develop mitigation measures to tackle this issue. Integrated monitoring tools that provide the necessary information to design and implement mitigation actions against marine litter in the Mediterranean basin are, therefore, needed also to support the current directives and regional action plans and have been developed. Actions that address the whole management cycle of marine litter, from monitoring and assessment to prevention and mitigation, as well as actions to strengthen networking between and among pelagic and coastal MPAs are needed.