Abundance, composition and sources of benthic marine litter trawled-up in the fishing grounds on the Moroccan Mediterranean coast

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the abundance, composition and sources of marine litter captured with fishing net during a fisheries survey in the Al Hoceima region, in the Moroccan Mediterranean. A total of 50 hauls were conducted and 2664 items of litter were collected. Plastic (57.15%) was the most frequent type of litter, and consisted mainly of bottles, crisps packets and plastic bags. The abundance values range between 0 and 1887 items/km2. Comparing our findings with other regions of the Mediterranean, Moroccan waters displayed a higher impact, probably due to high human population density and also poor waste management. Higher amounts of litter were reported in coastal areas, especially offshore coastal cities and at river mouths. The abundance of marine litter varies by region, season and depth. The litter abundance was significantly greater at 24–50 m (957 items/km2) compared to 50–100 m (405 items/km2) and >100 m (297 items/km2) depth classes. This study also indicates that the Al Hoceima Marine Protected Area is a hotspot for marine litter that can threaten the biological richness of this region. Our observation also showed that fishermen are poorly managing the litter caught in the nets. In all the trips, the fishermen did not keep the waste caught in the nets but threw it back into the water after sorting. This study highlights the need for educational programs for fishermen to develop good environmental practices that will help protect the marine environment.