Floating marine debris in two pelagic ecosystems of the southwestern Atlantic off Argentina

GIARDINO, GISELA V.; DENUNCIO, PABLO; PADULA, ANTONELLA D.; BASTIDA, JULIAN; MANDIOLA, M. AGUSTINA; SECO PON, JUAN PABLO

Marine and Fishery Sciences (MAFIS)

INIDEP

Año: 2024 vol. 37

In 2012 and 2013, observational surveys from seismic vessels were conducted to evaluate the abundance and composition of floating marine debris (FMD) in the east of Tierra delFuego (TDF), Argentina, and the Brazil/Malvinas Confl uence zone (BMC), respectively. The meanabundance of FMD varied signifi cantly between sampled ecosystems, with higher loads in TDF (meanabundance  6.15  8.84 items) when compared to BMC (3.31  6.83 items). Plastics dominated thecomposition of FMD at both ecosystems (ca. 80%), followed by foamed plastics. Within the plasticcategory, bags were the most abundant item, followed by wrappers, and bottles, among others. According to its color, white/clear, and multicolor debris were the most abundant. The main presumedsource of FMD was domestic activities, followed by fi sheries-related, and construction. This is thefi rst study demonstrating the utility of using seismic vessels as a platform for monitoring FMD inwaters within the Argentine continental shelf and adjacent waters.