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The presence of plastics on the coasts and in the marine environment of the Spanish coast is causing serious ecological damage, but the real extent of this new threat is still unknown. Through this project, the aim has been to characterise the presence of macro and microplastics in protected coastal areas and in the marine food web of the Spanish Mediterranean coast, from coastal sediments to sea turtles and cetaceans, including fish and crustaceans, and to compare the results with studies carried out in other areas of the Mediterranean.

With the results obtained, the aim is to form multidisciplinary working groups on the “circular economy“, including key sectors of production, management, universities, associations and consumers, which will allow awareness and dissemination campaigns to be carried out on this problem, and, as an ultimate goal, to contribute to the implementation of protocols that minimise the arrival of this plastic waste in coastal areas and the marine food web.

The main objective of the project has been to identify and characterise the presence of macro and microplastics in protected areas of the Spanish coast and in representative species of the Mediterranean Sea food web.

The specific objectives were as follows:

• To obtain published information on the presence of plastics in areas of the Spanish coast and in marine species of the Mediterranean Sea.
• Collect sediment samples from coastal protected areas of the Mediterranean Sea and digestive tract content samples from species representative of the marine food web (sea turtles, cetaceans, fish and crustaceans).
• Obtain information from the processing and analysis of the samples collected.
• To analyse the results and compare them with recent published information from other areas of the Spanish coast.
• Disseminate and disseminate the project.

• Bibliographic review of scientific articles published in the last 5 years on the presence of macro and microplastics in marine species representative of the marine food web present in the Mediterranean Sea and globally and studies on methodologies for the detection, analysis and sampling of macro and microplastics in turtles, cetaceans and fish.
• Collection of sediment samples in marine protected areas of the Spanish coast and digestive tract content of 273 specimens of stranded species of sea turtles (16), cetaceans (13), fish (194) and crustaceans (50) representative of the marine food web.
• Identification and quantification of the presence of macro and microplastics in the samples collected.
• Analysis of results, publication and comparison with recent publications on the subject, preparation of a protocol of recommendations and measures that would contribute to addressing the problem of plastics, and preparation of a summary infographic with the results of the project. These last two materials have been sent to 22 public administrations and entities.
• Dissemination and communication of the project through conferences, congresses, events, content in different channels and media, product publishing and publications in specialized media.

The project has contributed to advancing in the knowledge of the origin and content of macro and microplastics on beaches in protected areas of Andalusia, the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia and in marine fauna from fishing discards and stranded specimens. In this way, PlastiMarMed has verified the presence of macro and microplastics both in the coastal areas of the southeast of the peninsula and in the different taxonomic groups of marine biodiversity analysed in this study, such as sea turtles, cetaceans, fish and crabs.

Firstly, the meticulous and detailed review of scientific articles and studies related to the subject has allowed the publication of a review article in a high-impact journal in which conclusions have been drawn about the most prevalent types of plastics, their colour and the type of polymer. Mostly in cetaceans and fish, dark-colored fibers were found, mainly cellulose acetate. In addition, 100% of the sea turtles had a large amount of macroplastics such as fragments and plastic bags, the color being mostly white (66.60% of the cases) and transparent, in addition to polyethylene (LDPE) or polypropylene (PP) polymers. It has also been found that, in general, transparent fibre microplastics are probably the most prevalent types ingested by marine megafauna worldwide.

On the other hand, from the analysis of sediment sampling carried out on five beaches (4 in protected areas and one of a Ubano nature), it has been obtained that the only beach free of macro and microplastics has been Los Lances beach in the Natural Park of the Strait, in Cádiz. On the other hand, the beach with the highest number of micromacroplastics is La Malagueta, an urban beach in Malaga, with 166 elements found.

In addition, the analysis of digestive content has been relevant thanks to the number of specimens obtained in collaboration with the fishing sector, 194 fish from discards, 50 crustaceans, 13 cetaceans and 16 turtles. Thanks to the analysis of fish from discards, the entity has published an article (“Presence and global implications of plastics in commercial fish in the Alboran Sea”) in another high-impact international journal. As a result, it is noteworthy that throughout its distribution area, the greatest presence of plastics was found in anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus). The analysis of the material showed that the most predominant fiber color is black and the predominant plastic polymer was polyethylene. It should also be noted that of the 16 turtles studied, 100% of the specimens had macroplastics, while in the case of the 12 dolphins (11 striped and one common dolphin), this percentage is 92%.

All the informative material produced within the framework of the project has also been important, including the two scientific articles published, an article published in El País (“Microplastics, the poison of the sea”), a participation in a radio programme or the publication of an informative booklet that explains the origin of plastics, how they affect and how to avoid this type of pollution. In addition, a protocol of recommendations and measures has been drawn up that would contribute to addressing this problem.

According to the entity, the results of this project raise awareness of the widespread presence of macro and microplastics in marine ecosystems and their species and the growing risk emerging their presence in the food chain, including humans. In this way, it would be essential to continue with this type of analysis to quantify the presence and composition of plastics as a food safety measure.