An integrative assessment of the plastic debris load in the Mediterranean Sea
During the Tara Mediterranean expedition, extensive sampling of plastic debris was carried out in seven ecoregions, from Gibraltar to Lebanon, with the aim of providing reliable estimates of regional differences in floating plastic loads and plastic characteristics.
The average abundance was 260,000 plastic objects collected on the surface per km2. This gives an estimate of approximately 650 billion plastic particles floating on the surface of the Mediterranean, or 660 tons of plastic. The highest concentrations of plastic were observed in the northwestern coastal regions, north of the Tyrrhenian Sea, but also off the western and central Mediterranean basins. The Levantine Basin, south of Cyprus, had the lowest concentrations.
The study also confirms that the plastic found on the surface is already in an advanced state of degradation, reinforcing our message of the need for action on land.