A first assessment of marine litter on a beach of an uninhabited island in the Mozambique Channel

Abstract

Marine litter is ubiquitous and associated with both ecological and socio-economic consequences. Beaches are major sinks of marine litter and as such its assessment and monitoring are needed. An opportunistic marine litter survey was performed for 12 consecutive days on the island of Juan de Nova in the central Mozambique Channel in February 2007. Plastic dominated the marine beach litter with daily accumulation of plastic positively related to the tide height (R2 = 0.768, p<0.01). Annual deposits could reach an average of 1 t.km-1, suggesting that regular cleaning of the coastline should be conducted to limit the impact on the local wildlife of this protected area.