M.B. Eppinga

A large-scale study of beach debris on Aruba has shown just how much marine debris pollution there is on the island’s beaches. The study also locates the different sources of this debris, emphasizing the need for both local and global action. 

This news article was published in BioNews 24.

BioNews is produced by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance and funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Abstract
Accumulation of marine (plastic) debris from local land-based and distal marine-based sources along coastlines is a pressing modern issue. Hitherto, assessing the relative contribution of pollution sources through beach sur- veys is methodologically challenging. We surveyed ten beaches along the leeward and windward coastlines of Aruba (southern Caribbean) to determine differences in macro- and meso-debris densities. Differences were quantified using three metrics: 1) the gradient in macro-debris density away from the waterfront; 2) the propor- tion of plastic within macro-debris; 3) the meso-:macro-debris ratio. Overall 42,585 macro-debris items and 884 meso-debris items were collected. The density of near-shore macro-debris, proportion of plastic debris herein, and meso-:macro-debris ratio were highest on the windward coastline. These results suggest that southern Ca- ribbean windward coastlines are mainly exposed to debris originating from distal marine-based sources, and lee- ward coastlines to local land-based sources. Our metrics clearly reflect these differences, providing novel means to survey debris source origin.