Clean Sea Research Articles

Marine and coastal health are critical to the environment and well-being of communities that depend on these ecosystems. This study describes a community service initiative conducted by Mahsa University, Malaysia, and Universitas Warmadewa, Indonesia, aimed at cleaning up Klabang Beach in Malacca. The activity involved over 300 participants from various backgrounds and included education on the impacts of marine pollution. In addition to the cleanup, the event also hosted workshops to raise community awareness on the importance of sustainable practices, such as recycling and waste reduction. Survey results showed an increase in community knowledge about marine pollution from 40% to 80%. The mangrove planting activity also succeeded in planting 1,000 seedlings with a survival rate of 85%. Through this collaboration, participants not only contributed to environmental cleanliness but also strengthened relationships between communities. This initiative is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 14 on life below water, and supports the blue economy through sustainable practices that improve the quality of life for coastal communities.

The efficient operation of ship systems that control navigation, communications, sensors, and power and machinery is dependent on the increasing digitization of the maritime sector and the intense use of information and operational technologies. The goal of issuing and enforcing global regulations and standards is to lessen the impact of potential dangers that could jeopardize on-board systems, network and data integrity, and operation, functionality and safety. At this point, "Cyber Resilience of Ships" (UR E26) is recently released by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) to address the need to improve ships' cyber resilience. This regulation will be applicable to new ships built on and after 1 July 2024. This study aims to create a check list for ship cyber security based on IACS UR E26 standard. A ship cyber security checklist was developed by first analyzing ship operational technologies, identifying potential cyber risks and vulnerabilities, and then creating a checklist in accordance with the IACS UR E26 standard to ensure cyber security on board. With a focus on clean seas and safe ships, the IACS provides technical assistance, verifies compliance, and conducts research and development to enhance maritime safety, security and regulation. This study provides practical tool to ships for ship cyber security management under the safety management system besides IACS standard benefits. Creating a checklist in accordance with the IACS UR E26 standard also allows ship owners and operators to comply with the standards and facilitate inspection processes. This reduces the effort spent to comply with international regulations. It helps to proactively manage cyber risks by providing a systematic approach to ship cyber security management.

Osi Island is included in the leading tourist destinations of Western Seram Regency. The island has a major attraction, namely a mangrove forest along a wooden bridge with a length of 1,300 meters. The problems in this study are that there is no clean water, some facilities are not good, access in ecotourism areas such as bridges and trails are starting to have holes. The purpose of this study is to determine the existing condition of mangrove ecotourism, as well as to analyze the value of suitability and carrying capacity of mangrove ecotourism areas. This study uses descriptive analysis methods, visitor perception analysis, suitability analysis and area carrying capacity analysis. The results obtained are that the existing condition of the Osi Island mangrove forest ecotourism has cool forest conditions along the bridge and clean sea views, but the access (trails and bridges) to Osi Island is still damaged and there are supporting facilities and infrastructure that are already available. The total score of the results of the mangrove ecotourism condition of Osi Island is included in the S2 category (Appropriate), with a total score of 68 and a tourism suitability index of 78%, meaning that it can be used for ecotourism activities and the carrying capacity of the mangrove ecotourism area on Osi Island is 409 people per day

The expansion of the global population, technological progress, economic growth, and rapid urbanization have induced substantial shifts in lifestyle choices, reshaping consumption patterns. This research aimed to investigate the interrelation between recycling practices in rapidly developing nations, notably China, Brazil, Turkey, Vietnam, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while emphasizing the role of the UAE, particularly Abu Dhabi, in mitigating climate change and addressing marine pollution. Furthermore, the study ascertain the significance of recycling practices, specifically concerning plastic and e-waste in the UAE, in contributing to environmental sustainability and promoting cleaner oceans. This endeavor ultimately aimed for more sustainable and conscientious development pathways. The research methodology was founded on established theoretical and conceptual framework developed through an in-depth analysis of variables rooted in the theory of planned behavior. Following the successful collection of data on recycling behaviors related to plastic and e-waste in Abu Dhabi, the data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings from the correlation analysis conducted showed complex correlations between recycling behavior and environmental factors. The positive connections found between “comparing recycling practice” and a favorable “future development pathway,” suggested active recycling involvement and good future perspectives. Similarly, positive correlation between “reducing marine pollution” and “environmental sustainability,” demonstrated a shared environmental conscience. However, a negative link was found between “mitigating climate change” and “reducing marine pollution”, “recycling behavior, showing that respondents with higher priority on mitigating climate change also not in favour to recycle and prioritize for reducing marine pollution.

Given the widespread use of esters and polyesters in products like cosmetics, fishing nets, lubricants and adhesives, whose specific application(s) may cause their dispersion in open environments, there is a critical need for stringent eco-design criteria based on biodegradability and ecotoxicity evidence. Our approach integrates experimental and computational methods based on short oligomers, offering a screening tool for the rapid identification of sustainable monomers and oligomers, with a special focus on bio-based alternates. We provide insights into the relationships between the chemical structure and properties of bio-based oligomers in terms of biodegradability in marine environments and toxicity in benchmark organisms. The experimental results reveal that the considered aromatic monomers (terephthalic acid and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid) accumulate under the tested conditions (OECD 306), although some slight biodegradation is observable when the inoculum derives from sites affected by industrial and urban pollution, which suggests that ecosystems adapt to non-natural chemical pollutants. While clean seas are more susceptible to toxic chemical buildup, biotic catalytic activities offer promise for plastic pollution mitigation. Without prejudice to the fact that biodegradability inherently signifies a desirable trait in plastic products, nor that it automatically grants them a sustainable "license", this study is intended to facilitate the rational design of new polymers and materials on the basis of specific uses and applications.

The article highlights some issues related to the topic of sustainable growth of modern companies. In general, this topic is quite broad and is not limited to the activities of companies. It is also about how to ensure sustainable growth in the global economy in the near future and in the long term. For this purpose, the states are joining their efforts to control harmful emissions into the atmosphere, ensuring clean seas and oceans, preserving forests from fires, etc. And if we bear in mind that without the direct participation of business -public and private -it is impossible to cope with this problem, then all companies should build their strategy in such a way as to contribute to this multifaceted programme. The article discusses modern concepts to ensure the growth of companies operating in a difficult economic and political environment. According to the given calculation algorithms, the indicators of sustainable and optimal growth of three Russian public joint stock companies, Severstal, NLMK, and MMK, are determined and evaluated for the period from 2019 to 2021.

Kıyı devletleri, limanlarına veya açık deniz tesislerine uğrak yapan yabancı bayraklı gemilere ve personeline liman devleti denetimleri (PSC) gerçekleştirmektedir. Uluslararası denizcilik sözleşmeleri ve Gemilerden Kaynaklanan Kirliliğin Önlenmesine İlişkin Uluslararası Sözleşme (MARPOL) kapsamında denizlerin ve doğal çevrenin korunması amacıyla uygulanan bu denetimler sürdürülebilir, temiz denizler ve doğal çevre açısından son derece önemlidir. Ancak son yıllarda artan deniz ticareti faaliyetleri, denizel çevreye çeşitli nedenlerle büyük ve kalıcı zararlar vermektedir. Ticari faaliyetlerin yürütüldüğü gemi türleri arasında tanker gemileri çevresel açıdan en riskli gemi türü olarak ön plana çıkmaktadır. Fakat denizcilik literatüründe tanker gemilerinin çevresel uygunsuzluklarının değerlendirilmesi konusunda kapsamlı bir çalışma bulunmamaktadır. Ayrıca mevcut çalışmalar uygunsuzlukların içeriği konusunda detaylı bilgi barındırmamakta, doğrudan MARPOL ekleri düzeyinde incelemektedir. Bu motivasyon ile, bu çalışmada tanker gemilerine ait MARPOL uygunsuzlukları Paris MoU kapsamında belirlenerek, gemi özellikleri ile denetim sonuçları arasındaki istatistiksel ilişkiler ortaya konmuştur. Bu bağlamda Paris MoU veri tabanından son beş yılı kapsayan 1.051 PSC denetimi verisi elde edilmiş ve bu denetimlerde MARPOL kapsamında tespit edilen 1.264 adet uygunsuzluk incelenmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, Tanker gemilerinde sırasıyla en sık olarak; Pis su arıtma ekipmanı (Ek IV - 14402), Çöp yönetim planı (Ek V - 14503) ve Yağ/yakıt filtreleme ekipmanı (Ek I - 14104) ile ilgili MARPOL uygunsuzlukları tespit edildiği ortaya koyulmuştur. Ayrıca, istatistiksel olarak gemi yaşı ve denetim türü ile tespit edilen uygunsuzluklar arasındaki anlamlı ilişkiler olduğu belirlenmiştir. Analiz sonuçlarının mevcut tanker filosunun MARPOL Sözleşmesine uyumluluğunun iyileştirilmesi konusunda gemi işletmecilerine, acentelere ve gemi personeline, denetimlerdeki etkinliğin artırılması konusunda ise bayrak ve liman devleti denetim rejimlerine fayda sağlaması hedeflenmektedir.

Bioconcentration, biotransformation, and transcriptomic impact of the UV-filter 4-MBC in the manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum

Characteristics of atmospheric black carbon and its wet scavenging in Nanning, South China

Remote sensing has been widely used for oil spill monitoring in open waters. However, research on remote sensing monitoring of oil spills in ice-infested sea waters (IISWs) is still scarce. The spectral characteristics of oil-contaminated sea ice (OCSI) and clean sea ice (CSI) and their differences are an important basis for oil spill detection using visible/near-infrared (VNIR) remote sensing. Such features and differences can change with the observation geometry, affecting the identification accuracy. In this study, we carried out multi-angle reflection observation experiments of oil-contaminated sea ice (OCSI) and proposed a kernel-driven bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model, Walthall–Ross thick-Litransit-Lisparse-r-RPV (WaRoLstRPV), which takes into account the strong forward-scattering characteristics of sea ice. We also analyzed the preferred observation geometry for oil spill monitoring in IISWs. In the validation using actual measured data, the proposed WaRoLstRPV performed well, with RMSEs of 0.0031 and 0.0026 for CSI and OCSI, respectively, outperforming the commonly used kernel-driven BRDF models, Ross thick-Li sparse (R-LiSpr), QU-Roujean (Qu-R), QU-Lisparse R-r-RPV (Qu-LiSpr-RrRPV), and Walthall (Wa). The observation geometry with a zenith angle around 50° and relative azimuth ranging from 250° to 290° is preferred for oil spill detection in IISWs.

The development of coastal fisheries in the Trenggalek regency area is growing rapidly due to technological advancement. Technology has become a stimulant for the community in utilizing fishery resources. The sustainability of the livelihoods of fishing communities in Prigi Bay in 2019 was analyzed using the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA), showing that social capital during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced changes in social and economic aspects. According to previous SLA results, this study examines the policy priorities of small-scale fishing households in Prigi Bay. This study investigates the policy priorities to improve the sustainability of fishers’ livelihoods using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) criteria. The analysis results indicate that local culture is consequential and greatly impacts household sustainability. It is due to the custom, which maintains culture of not going to catch fish on Fridays. The culture has not been drafted as a local regulation. Therefore, the local government should draft regional regulations regarding the clean sea program on Fridays that all coastal communities must follow. It will affect the fishers’ sustainable livelihood because production activities are not only in the sea but also outside the sea. For example, people could perform off-fishing activities such as planting crops and maintaining social relationships with family or neighbours.

Abstract This article explores the lessons that might be learned from port State con-trol (PSC) inspections for flag States, examining the scholarly literature on vessel risk targeting. It begins by identifying the major classification socie-ties (and recognized organizations or ROs) before discussing the obligations and responsibilities of governments in achieving a global ‘safer ships and cleaner seas’ objective. It then presents a framework for thinking about the relationship between owner/operators, ship classification societies, flag State authorities and PSC parties in order to improve safety, discussing where gaps remain in the execution of the objective. The author draws con-clusions about where the future focus by flag States might achieve addi-tional improvements in their oversight of classification societies when they act as ROs, carrying out ship survey and certification functions on behalf of flag States. Identified challenges include improving the quality of data used in vessel risk targeting, expanding the transparency of that data for RO oversight, and focusing efforts on those flag States and ROs who do not meet their obligations.

Long-term programmes like the UK Clean Seas Environmental Monitoring Programme (CSEMP) rely on biological effects techniques, including biomarkers, to assess if chemical pollutants are affecting sentinel species in the aquatic environment. In this study, we have applied mixed and fixed effect linear models to the long-term CSEMP dataset (2005-2018) to evaluate if factors such as region (location), sex, age, gonadosomatic index (GSI) and condition factor (CF), contribute to the variability observed in the levels of 3 well established biomarkers (inhibition of acetylcholinesterase in muscle-AChE, induction of hepatic 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase-EROD and presence of biliary 1-hydroxypyrene-1-OH pyrene) used to monitor biological effects of contaminants in dab (Limanda limanda) around UK waters. Regional differences (location) were a significant explanatory variable for the 3 biomarkers. Substantial differences were found in regional average muscle AChE activity, overall indicating the East Coast regions as likely more impacted by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (e.g. organophosphates and carbamates). We report for the first time that, while accounting for region, sex and gonadosomatic index are significant predictors of muscle acetylcholinesterase isoform in dab (R2 = 0.13-0.15), and therefore advise the future analysis of this marker should be done by sex when reporting for marine environmental purposes. Dab condition factor is also a significant predictor for both enzymatic markers (AChE and EROD) but not for 1-OH pyrene. Sex and age, and their interaction, were the strongest variables (R2 = 0.46) influencing hepatic EROD, showing that although overall females had higher hepatic EROD, male dab hepatic EROD increased with age. Correlations between the three biomarkers might assist in discerning types of prevalent regional contamination over the studied period. Our results highlight the factors to account for when assessing if environmental contamination is contributing to the responses of these 3 biomarkers in dab, and other flatfish species, used in marine environmental monitoring programmes.

Problems that often arise in tourist objects, namely inadequate and supportive infrastructure facilities. Infrastructure that is often a concern is road access to tourist attractions, availability of parking lots, landfills to public toilets. The research objectives were to describe: 1) the condition of the Kali Biru tourist attraction; and 2) the tourism potential of Kali Biru. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative method with 25 respondents. The data in this study were collected through observation, interviews and documentation. The results of the study show that: 1) the Kali Biru tourist attraction has tourism potential which can be seen in terms of adventurer potential which includes accessibility and infrastructure contained in the Kali Biru tourist attraction. These potentials vary from those that are still maintained to those that are not maintained so that more attention is needed, repairs and improvements in a better direction; 2) The beauty of the sea water at the location of the tourist attraction is also a potential main natural attraction in Kali Biru. The clear blue and clean sea, the presence of coral reefs, geomorphological appearance in the form of views around directly facing mangroves and there is a sunrise, can spoil the eyes of tourists to visit again.

A novel FMEA approach for risk assessment of air pollution from ships

This study is devoted to evaluating the most effective conditions that allow detecting oil pollution on the water surface using an on-board lidar operating in the infrared range. The results of the CO2 – lidar simulation show that even in the presence of a highly agitated sea surface, difficult weather conditions and low optical visibility, it is possible to search for the boundary between the water surface and oil from a flight altitude of 250-300 meters.

Oil spills on the ocean surface are a serious threat to the marine ecosystem. Automation of oil spill detection through full/dual polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images is considered a good aid for oil spill disaster management. This paper uses the power of log transformation to discern the scattering behavior more effectively from the coherency matrix (T3). The proposed coherency matrix is tested on patches of the clean sea surface and four different classes of oil spills, viz. heavy sedimented oil, thick oil, oil-water emulsion, fresh oil; by analyzing the entropy (H), anisotropy (A), and mean scattering angle alpha (α), following the H/A/α decomposition. Experimental results show that not only does the proposed T3 matrix differentiate between Bragg scattering of the clean sea surface from a random scattering of thick oil spills but is also able to distinguish between different emulsions of oil spills with water and sediments. Moreover, unlike classical T3, the proposed method distinguishes concrete-like structures and heavy sedimented oil even though both exhibit similar scattering behavior. The proposed algorithm is developed and validated on the data acquired by the UAVSAR full polarimetric L band SAR sensor over the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill accident in June 2010.

The anthropogenic release of oil hydrocarbons into the cold marine environment is an increasing concern due to the elevated usage of sea routes and the exploration of new oil drilling sites in Arctic areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate prokaryotic community structures and the genetic potential of hydrocarbon degradation in the metagenomes of seawater, sea ice, and crude oil encapsulating the sea ice of the Norwegian fjord, Ofotfjorden. Although the results indicated substantial differences between the structure of prokaryotic communities in seawater and sea ice, the crude oil encapsulating sea ice (SIO) showed increased abundances of many genera-containing hydrocarbon-degrading organisms, including Bermanella, Colwellia, and Glaciecola. Although the metagenome of seawater was rich in a variety of hydrocarbon degradation-related functional genes (HDGs) associated with the metabolism of n-alkanes, and mono- and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, most of the normalized gene counts were highest in the clean sea ice metagenome, whereas in SIO, these counts were the lowest. The long-chain alkane degradation gene almA was detected from all the studied metagenomes and its counts exceeded ladA and alkB counts in both sea ice metagenomes. In addition, almA was related to the most diverse group of prokaryotic genera. Almost all 18 good- and high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) had diverse HDGs profiles. The MAGs recovered from the SIO metagenome belonged to the abundant taxa, such as Glaciecola, Bermanella, and Rhodobacteracea, in this environment. The genera associated with HDGs were often previously known as hydrocarbon-degrading genera. However, a substantial number of new associations, either between already known hydrocarbon-degrading genera and new HDGs or between genera not known to contain hydrocarbon degraders and multiple HDGs, were found. The superimposition of the results of comparing HDG associations with taxonomy, the HDG profiles of MAGs, and the full genomes of organisms in the KEGG database suggest that the found relationships need further investigation and verification.

In the age of the Anthropocene, the ocean has typically been viewed as a sink for pollution. Pollution is varied, ranging from human-made plastics and pharmaceutical compounds, to human-altered abiotic factors, such as sediment and nutrient runoff. As global population, wealth and resource consumption continue to grow, so too does the amount of potential pollution produced. This presents us with a grand challenge which requires interdisciplinary knowledge to solve. There is sufficient data on the human health, social, economic, and environmental risks of marine pollution, resulting in increased awareness and motivation to address this global challenge, however a significant lag exists when implementing strategies to address this issue. This review draws upon the expertise of 17 experts from the fields of social sciences, marine science, visual arts, and Traditional and First Nations Knowledge Holders to present two futures; the Business-As-Usual, based on current trends and observations of growing marine pollution, and a More Sustainable Future, which imagines what our ocean could look like if we implemented current knowledge and technologies. We identify priority actions that governments, industry and consumers can implement at pollution sources, vectors and sinks, over the next decade to reduce marine pollution and steer us towards the More Sustainable Future.Graphic abstractSupplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11160-021-09674-8.

Policy of climate change mitigation and adaptation play an important role to socio-economic aspect. Controlling pollution and degradation of environment in coastal area adapted by capacity initiatives to protect marine environment from pollution and climate change. Climate change distributes micro-plastic to the ocean, including the activity of marine debris, fisheries and marine products industry, and shipping line (oil spill). Industry, agriculture in daily life contributes 80% of marine pollution, in addition, hundreds hectares of mangrove deforestation in Kepulauan Riau caused by development. According to Governmental Law No 19 year 1999 of pollution and damage control of the sea and implementation of The Bali Declaration as an adaptation of the 4th Intergovernmental Review Meeting (IGK4) to the Regional Capacity Canter for Clean Seas (RC3S) in Bali by mainstreaming protection of ocean and coastal ecosystem from the threat of chemical, waste, and micro plastic pollution. Mangrove as one of the best alternative of climate change mitigation divided into several zones, namely zone of core, zone utility and zone sustainability. The goals of this research are mapping the destruction factors and rehabilitation efforts, and also to know the interconnected key stakeholders on conserve mangrove and community based ecological mangrove restoration. Restoration and conservation of Mangrove in Kepulauan Riau, especially in Bintan and Batam, to the management of sustainable coastal through the method of Mangrove Restoration Opportunity Evaluation in collaboration between regional government, private sector, civil society, and expert. In recommendation, according to the program of Agency of Peat and Mangrove Restoration (BRGM) of Presidential Decree No 120/2020 by planting, survey, utility and other researches, mangrove sustainability needs consideration of the legality area and common analysis of Ministry and Provincial Government to avoid misunderstanding of taking action between conserve and build, and also taking further action of RZWP3K in Kepulauan Riau.