Many types of pollution
Pollution of the marine environment occurs in different forms such as:
• Oil pollution
• chemical substances
• litter, particularly plastic
More than 80% of this pollution at sea originates from the land.
Oil pollution
Oil pollution - DMM-SMM
Oil pollution at sea may be the result of an accident, but may also be due to intentional discharge of oil. Oil pollution has noticeably diminished since a number of decades, particularly as a result of persistent surveillance and enforcement. Apart from the general pollution of the marine environment, fish and birds are the biggest victims of oil pollution.
Chemical pollution
Chemicals are considered as pollutants when they are toxic (poisonous), persistent (difficult to break down) and/or bioaccumulate (accumulate in humans and animals). They may also have a carcinogenic or hormone-disrupting effect. These substances - originating from the agriculture, industry and households - have a negative impact on water quality and may end up in the food chain.
Litter
Litter - DMM-SMM
Litter is found at sea and on the beach. It usually includes plastic, but sometimes one may also find paper and cardboard, rubber, wood, metal and glass. Its origin is mainly land-based.
Litter - especially plastic waste - is a major pollutant. Micro-plastics are particularly pernicious because they can also end up in the food chain.
Litter can have a negative impact on the tourism (e.g. beaches full of waste), but also on the marine ecosystem and the biodiversity. Not only do the micro-plastics end up in the food chain, but the fish, birds, sea turtles or marine mammals get regularly entangled in the abandoned nets or die after eating the litter which they mistook for food.
Approach
The OSPAR Convention is an important collaboration between the countries bordering the North-east Atlantic Ocean to map the pollution of the marine environment and to address this problem. Two important policy instruments to reduce the pollution of the marine environment are the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Water Framework Directive.
“Fishing for Litter” is a recommendation of OSPAR to stimulate fishermen to keep the fished litter on the vessel and to bring it to the shore with the aim to monitor the types of litter that are being fished. The project was developed by KIMO (http://www.fishingforlitter.org.uk/kimo-uk) (Local Authorities International Environmental Organisation), an association of coastal local authorities whose goal is to eliminate pollution from the Northern Seas. The Marine Environment service supports VVC Equipment (http://www.vvcequipment.be/), a foundation of Flemish fishermen to take part in the “Fishing for Litter” initiative.
“Fishing for Litter” is a recommendation of OSPAR to stimulate fishermen to keep the fished litter on the vessel and to bring it to the shore with the aim to monitor the types of litter that are being fished. The project was developed by KIMO (http://www.fishingforlitter.org.uk/kimo-uk) (Local Authorities International Environmental Organisation), an association of coastal local authorities whose goal is to eliminate pollution from the Northern Seas. The Marine Environment service supports VVC Equipment (http://www.vvcequipment.be/), a foundation of Flemish fishermen to take part in the “Fishing for Litter” initiative.
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