The United Nations Environment Program has now released the first study of the impact of marine debris throughout the world’s oceans. The report found that plastic, especially bags and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, makes up more than 80 per cent of all rubbish found in the oceans. The UN report, titled “Marine Litter: a Global Challenge”, also found that plastic bags alone constitute almost 10 percent of the rubbish.

“Some of the litter, like thin-film, single-use plastic bags, which choke marine life, should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere because there is simply zero justification for manufacturing them any more, anywhere,” says UN environment program executive director Achim Steiner.

The United Nations are not the only ones worried about the enormous amounts of plastic entering our marine ecosystems each year. In Australia, plastic bags and other marine debris are a direct threat to 20 marine species according to the Federal Government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee who has listed plastic bags as a “key threatening process” under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Marine animals threatened by our reckless use of plastics include iconic creatures like the Blue whale, Loggerhead turtle, and Tristan albatross.

According to a new report jointly produced by UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and UN Environment Programme (Unep), merchant ships are to blame for 88 percent of the total marine littering in the world. According to the report, merchant ships deposit 5.6 million tonnes of litter in the ocean each year.

About 8 million pieces of marine litter enters our oceans each day and most of it is solid waste thrown overboard or accidently lost from ships. Right now, an average of 13,000 pieces of plastic litter is floating around per square kilometre of ocean waters, the report says.

The FAO-Unep report has been released right before next weeks’ World Oceans Conference in Manado, Indonesia where marine littering will be high on the agenda.

A majority of the litter from ships is fishing gear, which is either lost or intentionally abandoned in the water. Fishing gear now accounts for one tenth of all marine litter.

The rest consists of various debris, such as shipping containers, pallets, plastic covers, drums, wires and ropes. Accumulated oils are also dumped by ships; oils which can cause serious injury to marine life.

“Most fishing gear is not deliberately discarded but is lost in storms or strong currents or from’ gear conflicts’”, the report states. “For example, fishing with nets in areas where bottom-traps that can entangle them are already deployed.”

Unfortunately, lost and abandoned fishing gear will not stop fishing – they will continue to trap animals until they are broken down; a process which can take many years since modern fishing gear are made from highly durable synthetic materials. This is referred to as ghost fishing and is a major problem for aquatic species that need to surface regularly to breathe; a dolphin, turtle or seal caught in a net will suffocate and die. Lost fishing gears are also a problem for ships that become entangled in the equipment and are known to damage boats and cause accidents at sea.

While the report points a finger at merchant vessels, it also states that land-based sources are the main cause of marine littering in coastal regions.

UN recommends financial incentives and new technology

The report recommends using financial incentives to encourage fishers to bring old and damaged gear to port instead of dumping it. Fishers should also be given incentives to bring ghost nets recovered while fishing back to shore and to log and report items lost at sea. For this to work disposal facilities must be set up in ports and a report and recovery system must be established. The report also suggests providing ships with oversized, high-strength disposal bags to place discarded fishing gear in.

“A ‘no-blame’ approach should be followed with respect to liability for losses, their impacts, and any recovery efforts,” the report says.

New technologies – such as seabed imaging, geographic Positioning Systems (GPS), and transponders – can be used locate where lost or dumped fishing gear is present and recover it. Fishing ships could use GPS to mark locations where objects have been lost and weather monitoring technology could be used to predict there the stuff will go. It is also possible to attach transponders to fishing gear, shipping containers and other types or property known to frequently get lost at sea.

Weather monitoring technology can also reduce the risk of property getting lost at sea by altering captains in advance, e.g. to prevent them from deploying nets when unusually severe weather is on its way.

The study also recommends speeding up the development and commercial adoption of durable but bio-degradable fishing gear, including gear containing magnetic solutions.

International Convention

Ichiro Nomura, FAO assistant director general for fisheries and aquaculture, has called for industry and governments to take action to radically reduce the amount of lost and abandoned fishing gear in the sea. If nothing is done, fishing gear will continue to accumulate in the world’s oceans and their impact on marine ecosystems will become more and more severe. Nomura stressed that the problem must be addressed on multiple fronts and include both littering prevention and restoration measures.

FAO is currently involved in an ongoing review of Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) as regards fishing gear and shore side reception facilities by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

On September 4, UNESCO announced its plans to help Egypt build an underwater museum in the Bay of Alexandria. Parts of the museum will be submerged while other parts will be located above the surface. This construction will allow visitors to view not only marine life but also the myriad of archaeological artefacts that can be found on the site.

The proposed area for the underwater museum holds archaeological remnants from thousands of years ago. In 1994, remains of the illustrious Alexandria Lighthouse, also known as Pharos, were discovered on the floor of Alexandria’s Eastern Harbour by divers, and more findings have now been done with the aid of satellite imaging. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was constructed between 285 and 247 BC on the island of Pharos in Alexandria. For many centuries, it was one of the tallest man-made structures in the world and it is traditionally regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

According to Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, the proposed museum will help raise awareness of the need to protect underwater cultural heritage sites. “Until UNESCO’s Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention enters into force, there is no specific international law that can protect it against treasure hunters”, says Matsuura. “This project will certainly enhance the appreciation of underwater cultural heritage and raise awareness of the urgent need to protect it from looting.”

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage was adopted in 2001. You can learn more about it and about our common underwater cultural heritage in this film produced by UNESCO: http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/underwater/film/. As scuba diving equipment and other technical devices becomes more and more advanced and affordable, the risk of pillaging and heritage destruction increases.

UNESCO is a specialized agency under the United Nations. Its stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UN Charter.