RT journal article
T1 Artisanal trawl fisheries as a sentinel of marine litter pollution
A1 Viejo Marín, Josué
A1 Cózar Cabañas, Andrés
A1 Quintana Sepúlveda, Rocío
A1 Martí Morales, Elisa
A1 Markelain, Gorka
A1 Cabrera Castro, Remedios
A1 Muñoz Arroyo, Gonzalo
A1 Montero, Enrique
A1 Morales Caselles, María del Carmen
A2 Biología
K1 Marine litter
K1 Fishing
K1 Seabed
K1 Trawling
K1 COVID-19
K1 Gulf of Cadiz
AB Systematic seafloor surveys are a highly desirable method of marine litter monitoring, but the high costs involved in seafloor sampling are not a trivial handicap. In the present work, we explore the opportunity provided by the artisanal trawling fisheries to obtain systematic data on marine litter in the Gulf of Cadiz between 2019 and 2021. We find that plastic was the most frequent material, with a prevalence of single-use and fishing-related items. Litter densities decreased with increasing distance to shore with a seasonal migration of the main litter hotspots. During pre-lockdown and post-lockdown stages derived from COVID-19, marine litter density decreased by 65 %, likely related to the decline in tourism and outdoor recreational activities. A continuous collaboration of 33 % of the local fleet would imply a removal of hundreds of thousands of items each year. The artisanal trawl fishing sector can play a unique role of monitoring marine litter on the seabed
PB Elsevier
SN 0025-326X
YR 2023
FD 2023-04-11
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/28793
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/28793
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 11-nov-2026