Fishing & Ecosystems
Ecosystem Loss - Links from Dr. Kamal
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1.1 Conference Papers
1.1.8 Composition and abundance of marine debris stranded in beaches of Sri Lanka: Results from the first island-wide survey
Abstract
Sri Lanka regards one of the top-ranked countries with mismanaged marine debris. No studies have been conducted to find the status of the marine debris and rationale for such a ranking. This study provides the first assessment of marine debris washed ashore on 22 beaches along the coast of Sri Lanka. There were 4.1 large (>25mm) and 158 small (5mm-25mm) debris per square meter of the beach. By usage classification, packaging material (55%) dominated the consumer products (25%) and fishing gear (20%). Plastic was the highest contributing (93%) material. Beaches close to a river mouth, city or with a barrier had greater debris accumulation. Eastern coast had significantly higher small debris density possibly due to strong northeastern monsoon currents. Findings show that the Sri Lankan beaches are moderately polluted with marine debris compared to other Asian countries and sound policy based debris management mechanism is essential. Strong marine debris management program is needed for Sri Lanka with sound policy measures to address the debris issue. Findings showed no exceptional accumulation of marine debris on the beach though Sri Lanka ranked 5th among worst marine debris polluters.