Microplastics in sea surface waters around Scotland

Abstract

This is the first regional, multi-annual assessment of floating microplastics in Scotland's seas. Sea surface samples were collected from 2014 to 2020, using a catamaran swimmer body/neuston net trawl and evaluated for the presence of microplastics. Microplastics were present in the surface waters of all Scottish Marine Regions (SMR) and Offshore Marine Regions (OMR) though almost 35% of sample sites contained no microplastics. Concentrations ranged from 0 to 91,128 microplastics km−2 sea surface. Potential hotspots were identified in the Clyde (0–77,168 microplastics km−2), Forth & Tay (0–83,729 microplastics km−2) and the Solway (607–91,128 microplastics km−2). Fragmented plastics accounted for almost 50% of the microplastics recovered and this may suggest that the microplastics in Scotland's seas are predominantly from the breakdown of larger items. Due to the variable geographic and temporal extents of the data it was not possible to carry out a trend assessment.