Can You Swim In A Sea Of Plastic?

Plastic pollution has now become a global concern as plastic debris have reached all the oceans of the world with adverse effects on marine organisms and biodiversity as well as on human livelihoods and economy. Marine plastics result from inadequate waste disposal infrastructure and management but also a lack of public knowledge about their environmental impacts. The economic impact of marine plastics on coastal communities is also considerable, especially for fsheries and municipalities that regularly need to remove the beach litter to maintain tourism revenues. Moreover, the low-density plastic particles which foat on the sea surface concentrate the hydrophobic contaminants from the surrounding polluted seawater, and release their intrinsic toxic chemicals (plastic additives) while they break down into smaller particles that will persist for decades to centuries in the marine environment due to their high resistance to natural degradation. There is therefore an urgent need to assess the environmental impacts of the plastic debris that accumulate in coastal areas close to large urban centers and popular tourist destinations, but also to a lesser extent at remote islands and in the deep sea such as in convergence zones that are formed by the wind-driven oceans surface currents.