Investigation of Marine Litter Pollution on the Coast According to Different Usage Purposes and Urbanization

Altinpinar İ.

BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY, vol.114, no.2, pp.1-7, 2025 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 114 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2025
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s00128-025-04012-1
  • Journal Name: BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, PASCAL, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, EMBASE, Environment Index, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Greenfile, INSPEC, Pollution Abstracts, Public Affairs Index, Veterinary Science Database, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.1-7
  • Karadeniz Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Three beaches on the Eastern Black Sea coast of Türkiye, with different usage purposes and urbanization, were evaluated regarding marine litter densities and categories in four seasons. 3573 marine litter items were collected, classified, and recorded. In an area of 3,000 m2, the highest amount of litter was counted in summer with a total of 1473 pieces of litter (Average: 0.491 ± 0.131 items/m2), and the lowest was counted in the spring months with 577 pieces of litter (Average: 0.192 ± 0.026 items/m2). Plastics (79 ± 0.9%) were the most predominant, and litter items mainly consisted of metal (7.2 ± 0.5%) and paper/cardboard (5.6 ± 0.6%.). Beach litter was also associated with fishing activities and tourism. It was observed that litter relatively increased during the fishing season in the region where fishing activities were intense. SIMPER analysis revealed that Çamburnu, located near a fishing port, exhibited a significantly different litter composition, with fishing gear being the most dominant category.