Abstract
ABSTRACT Ivar do Sul, J.A. and Costa, M.F. Plastic pollution risks in an estuarine conservation unit. Plastics enter the marine environment mostly from land-based sources, often via estuaries. However, studies related to plastic debris pollution remain rare within these environments. An estuarine beach comprised within a Marine Conservation Unit (MCU) in the Northeast coast of Brazil was studied during one year regarding plastic pollution. Petroleum derived products were >95% of all items, as commonly reported for other coastal and marine habitats. Monthly totals of marine debris presented an average of 10.8±1.63 items.100m−2, much lower than reported in the literature for other estuarine beaches. Three main sources were identified: fisheries, local users and human settlements along the river basin. The most frequent (56%) size category was 11–100cm2, but fragmented items alone were 83% of observed items. The main impact on the estuarine and visiting biota expected is the ingestion of plastic items and fr...
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