Efficient Beach Litter Monitoring: Accelerated Surveys of Pollution Hotspots—A North African Case Study
Marine litter is a critical environmental issue, with beach litter being its most visible indicator. Despite severe pollution on Mediterranean beaches, Tunisia currently lacks a national beach litter monitoring program. To address this gap and support the development of such a program, particularly...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/1/71 |
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| author | Emna Ben Slimane Mirco Haseler Lilia Ben Abdallah Fadhel Mhiri Abdallah Nassour Gerald Schernewski |
| author_facet | Emna Ben Slimane Mirco Haseler Lilia Ben Abdallah Fadhel Mhiri Abdallah Nassour Gerald Schernewski |
| author_sort | Emna Ben Slimane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Marine litter is a critical environmental issue, with beach litter being its most visible indicator. Despite severe pollution on Mediterranean beaches, Tunisia currently lacks a national beach litter monitoring program. To address this gap and support the development of such a program, particularly at pollution hotspots like urban beaches, we conducted a one-year study on six Tunisian beaches. We employed an innovative, accelerated multiple 10 m transect method tailored to highly polluted beaches, focusing on macro-litter (>2.5 cm). This method significantly reduces survey time compared to the standard 100 m approach while maintaining comparable pollution metrics, offering a practical and efficient solution for areas with high litter density. Our findings reveal an average litter density of 1.01 ± 1.08 pieces/m<sup>2</sup>, with higher pollution in urban areas. Based on the Clean Coast Index (CCI), two beaches were classified as extremely dirty, one as dirty, two as moderately clean, and one as clean. Plastics (59.2%) and cigarette butts (21.1%) were the most prevalent pollutants, with single-use plastics comprising 52.5% ± 5.3% of total litter. Most of the litter (60.6%) originated from shoreline activities and poor waste management. These findings underscore the urgent need for a long-term national beach litter monitoring program. The integration of our accelerated transect method would enable efficient, effective surveys on highly polluted beaches, providing critical data to address litter sources and support targeted strategies for mitigating pollution and protecting Tunisia’s coastal ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-78cdaa89907049d4bae9ee3bb91c5596 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-78cdaa89907049d4bae9ee3bb91c55962025-01-24T13:36:45ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122025-01-011317110.3390/jmse13010071Efficient Beach Litter Monitoring: Accelerated Surveys of Pollution Hotspots—A North African Case StudyEmna Ben Slimane0Mirco Haseler1Lilia Ben Abdallah2Fadhel Mhiri3Abdallah Nassour4Gerald Schernewski5Tunis International Center for Environmental Technologies (CITET), Tunis 2035, TunisiaResearch Unit—Coastal Seas and Society, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Seestrasse 15, 18119 Rostock, GermanyTunis International Center for Environmental Technologies (CITET), Tunis 2035, TunisiaTunis International Center for Environmental Technologies (CITET), Tunis 2035, TunisiaWaste and Resource Management, Rostock University, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, 18059 Rostock, GermanyResearch Unit—Coastal Seas and Society, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Seestrasse 15, 18119 Rostock, GermanyMarine litter is a critical environmental issue, with beach litter being its most visible indicator. Despite severe pollution on Mediterranean beaches, Tunisia currently lacks a national beach litter monitoring program. To address this gap and support the development of such a program, particularly at pollution hotspots like urban beaches, we conducted a one-year study on six Tunisian beaches. We employed an innovative, accelerated multiple 10 m transect method tailored to highly polluted beaches, focusing on macro-litter (>2.5 cm). This method significantly reduces survey time compared to the standard 100 m approach while maintaining comparable pollution metrics, offering a practical and efficient solution for areas with high litter density. Our findings reveal an average litter density of 1.01 ± 1.08 pieces/m<sup>2</sup>, with higher pollution in urban areas. Based on the Clean Coast Index (CCI), two beaches were classified as extremely dirty, one as dirty, two as moderately clean, and one as clean. Plastics (59.2%) and cigarette butts (21.1%) were the most prevalent pollutants, with single-use plastics comprising 52.5% ± 5.3% of total litter. Most of the litter (60.6%) originated from shoreline activities and poor waste management. These findings underscore the urgent need for a long-term national beach litter monitoring program. The integration of our accelerated transect method would enable efficient, effective surveys on highly polluted beaches, providing critical data to address litter sources and support targeted strategies for mitigating pollution and protecting Tunisia’s coastal ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/1/71Mediterranean Seareplicate surveymacro-littermarine litterplasticsurvey method |
| spellingShingle | Emna Ben Slimane Mirco Haseler Lilia Ben Abdallah Fadhel Mhiri Abdallah Nassour Gerald Schernewski Efficient Beach Litter Monitoring: Accelerated Surveys of Pollution Hotspots—A North African Case Study Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Mediterranean Sea replicate survey macro-litter marine litter plastic survey method |
| title | Efficient Beach Litter Monitoring: Accelerated Surveys of Pollution Hotspots—A North African Case Study |
| title_full | Efficient Beach Litter Monitoring: Accelerated Surveys of Pollution Hotspots—A North African Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Efficient Beach Litter Monitoring: Accelerated Surveys of Pollution Hotspots—A North African Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficient Beach Litter Monitoring: Accelerated Surveys of Pollution Hotspots—A North African Case Study |
| title_short | Efficient Beach Litter Monitoring: Accelerated Surveys of Pollution Hotspots—A North African Case Study |
| title_sort | efficient beach litter monitoring accelerated surveys of pollution hotspots a north african case study |
| topic | Mediterranean Sea replicate survey macro-litter marine litter plastic survey method |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/1/71 |
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