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The project has sought to contribute to the achievement of the tenth descriptor of good environmental status (“marine litter“) of the Marine Strategies in Spain. According to the University of Alicante, the results of this project will help to improve the management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to minimise the impact of marine litter and will lay the foundations for the implementation of the marine litter monitoring network in MPAs.

Likewise, the entity highlights that the project will identify the state of impact on priority habitat 1170 “Reefs” by marine litter, detecting areas of special accumulation. Actions in this regard have taken place on two levels: on the one hand, with respect to marine macro-litter, through data generated through citizen science; and on the other, referring to microplastics (plastics of less than 5 millimetres in size), derived from project sampling, following the protocols established by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) in its programmes for monitoring the marine environment.

The scope of action of the project as a whole has been the Iberian Peninsula, including its four marine demarcations.

The general objective of the project has been to contribute to the achievement of the tenth descriptor of good environmental status (“marine litter“) of the Spanish Marine Strategies in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

The specific objectives were as follows:

• Assess the level of pollution of large marine litter in Marine Protected Areas.
• To assess the level of microplastic contamination in MPAs.
• Involve society through volunteering in garbage collection and citizen science.
• Inform and advise on management measures to minimise pollution by marine litter in Marine Protected Areas.
• Facilitate the implementation of the marine litter monitoring network in MPAs to pursue good environmental status in the descriptor “marine litter” of the Spanish marine strategy.

• Collection and organization of information from databases of marine litter in Marine Protected Areas, using applications such as MARNOBA.
• Analysis of marine litter data related to the degree of protection and environmental characteristics of these areas.
• Pilot study of the interaction of marine litter with the Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) to find out the degree of affectation.
• Identify the state of impact on priority habitat 1170 “Reefs” due to the presence of marine litter, detecting areas of special accumulation.
• Sampling of microplastics in study areas not included in the MITECO microplastics sampling programme.
• Identification and quantification of microplastics derived from the corresponding sampling, using different techniques depending on the characteristics of the samples.
• Analysis of the data obtained from marine litter and microplastics.
• Holding coordination meetings and presentation of the results obtained with different stakeholders (interest groups) to integrate their perspective in the development of measures to minimize the presence of marine litter in Marine Protected Areas.
• Creation of a proposal for specific measures to minimise the presence of marine litter in Marine Protected Areas, adapted to the different interest groups: on the one hand, those aimed at companies, waste managers and environmental groups; and on the other, those aimed at beach users.
• Dissemination and communication of the project.

SOCIPLAS has made it possible to scientifically analyse the most important databases on marine litter, which have used citizen science to compile information. In this way, the classification of the sources of marine litter has been improved, which serves as fundamental information for Public Administrations to design strategies aimed at mitigating this environmental problem.

In this sense, from the analysis of data collected in 881 locations throughout Spain, in the 10 autonomous communities with coastline and the two autonomous cities, it has been extracted that the average waste collected per beach is 130 kilograms and 1,600 objects. Cigarette butts were the most abundant item, followed by pieces of plastic, bottle caps and food wrappers, both made of plastic. The results suggest that single-use land-based elements dominate beach litter and illustrate the importance of considering environmental protection and anthropogenic landscape pressures to improve the management of marine litter present on our coasts.

On the other hand, it has been found that, in general, beaches in Marine Protected Areas have less waste. In addition, on beaches with fewer services , less garbage was found. On the other hand, the waste in the habitat “Arrecifes” 1170 shows similar values to nearby beaches.

The project has also generated greater knowledge about the accumulation of microplastics on our beaches, showing that oceanographic factors, such as currents and waves, can contribute to the accumulation of microplastics. However, discharges into the environment, from river mouths and treatment plants, can have a greater weight in this accumulation.

In addition, within the framework of the project, areas with a high density of marine litter that may affect Balearic shearwater breeding have also been identified: Cala Vella and Playa de Porto Cristo in Mallorca and Playa Agua Amarga in Alicante. These areas, according to the entity, require urgent management to conserve the habitat of this species.

Likewise, within the framework of this initiative, and in collaboration with the European Environment Association and the environmental volunteers of the University of Alicante, citizen science actions have been promoted in which environmental transfer and dissemination activities have been carried out aimed at knowing the importance of minimising the presence of litter on the beach, involving 66 volunteers over 3 days of cleaning the beach of Agua Amarga (Alicante).