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Fishing & Ecosystems

Ecosystem Loss - Links from Dr. Kamal
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1.1 Conference Papers
1.1.26 Status of marine debris accumulated in coastal areas of Sri Lanka

Abstract

 

Humans produce vast amount of synthetic materials which may end up as waste, due to of lack of recovery infrastructure. The waste materials released to terrestrial environment find its way to coastal and the marine environment through the waterways and winds. The accumulation of debris in marine environment is considered one of the major threats to marine ecosystems. The accumulation of marine debris in Sri Lankan coastal and marine areas and issues generated by marine debris has not been properly addressed and understood. Marine debris is an emerging concern for Sri Lanka with the rapid development of tourism and other marine environment related industries. In order to ensure marine ecosystem protection and to ensure sustainability of marine environment related industries, this issue need to be properly addressed. Despite its importance, data on the amount and sources of marine debris are very limited. This paper analyzes marine debris collected and categorized during the international coastal cleanup programs of selected beaches in Sri Lanka from 2008 to 2013. The most common debris items encountered were pieces of plastic bags (22.68 %) followed by paper bags (14.35%) and plastic bottles (10.97%), while caps/lids and food wrappers/ containers contributed only 5.77% and 5.61 % respectively. The recreational activities were likely to contribute to over 74.93 percent of all debris recorded, while activities in ocean and waterways contributed 15.48 percent of all debris items.

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