Submarine canyons along the upper Sardinian slope (Central Western Mediterranean) as repositories for derelict fishing gears

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

卷:123

Article

Cau, Alessandro¹  Alvito, Andrea¹  Moccia, Davide¹  Canese, Simonepietro²  Pusceddu, Antonio¹  Rita, Cannas¹  Angiolillo, Michela²  Follesa, Maria C.¹ 

[1] Univ Cagliari, Dipartimento Sci Vita & Ambiente, Via Tommaso Fiorelli 1, I-09126 Cagliari, Italy

[2] CRA 15 ISPRA, Dept Tutela Habitat & Biodiversita Marina 3, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, I-00144 Rome, Italy

关键词: Marine litter;    Submarine canyons;    Derelict fishing gear;    ROV;    Plastic;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.09.010

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

By means of ROV surveys, we assessed the quantity, composition and bathymetric distribution of marine litter in 17 sites along the Sardinian continental margin (Central Western Mediterranean) at depths ranging from 100 to 480 in. None of the investigated sites was litter free, but the mean density of litter (0.0175 +/- 0.0022 items m(-2)) was lower than that reported from other Tyrrhenian regions. The difference in the total litter density among sites was negligible, but the density of derelict fishing gear (DFG) items (most of which ascribable to small scale fishery) in submarine canyons was higher in submarine canyons than in other habitats. Our result suggest that submarine canyons (known to be highly vulnerable ecosystems) act as major repositories of DFGs, and, therefore, we anticipate the need of specific measures aimed at minimizing the loss and abandonment of DFGs in submarine canyons.

【 授权许可】

Free