Tackling Marine Litter in the Mediterranean: Knowledge and Tools

• Need for harmonised protocols to monitor and assess certain marine compartments, MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE and the impacts on biodiversity COMMUNITY • Need to improve waste management practices, in keeping with the waste Increased knowledge of marine litter on beaches, hierarchy, to prevent the leakage of litter into floating on the surface, and in biota the environment Major findings of the Com. [...] Modelling knowledge and management practices on marine of how floating marine litter drifts in the litter, and particularly, to enhance the capacity entire Mediterranean indicates that the most of MPA managers and stakeholders to address contaminated areas are the Cilician sub-basin, this pressure (see additional information on the the Catalan Sea, the Po River Delta area, and the projects at the. [...] Beach Accumulation Index), and the investigation • There is a high spatial overlap between the into the use of animal forests as indicators of presence of marine litter and marine species entanglement, can help to establish clearer (cetaceans and sea turtles), especially in spring baselines and reduction targets in the context of and summer, and in the Sardinian-Sicily Channel both the EU MSFD and. [...] Refining and improving assessment protocols Community • Foster the adoption of the enhanced protocol for • Consider the use of the new Marine Litter floating macro-litter and ingested litter, proposed Beach Accumulation Index, and further by MEDSEALITTER and included into the revision investigate the use of animal forests as of the EU-JRC Guidance on monitoring marine indicators of entanglement, t. [...] marine conservation and maritime socio- economic sectors by including the consideration of Ecosystem-Based Management principles in other policies (especially in the Circular Economy To capitalise on the efforts of the Package and the Plastics Strategy), and by Community fostering a coordinated approach between MPAs, • Ensure that the Mediterranean Marine coastal and marine resource managers, and.