1. MEDCIS Workshops - Litter, 23rd February 2018, Athens
Deliverable 1.1
„Determination of the GES in the Mediterranean, gap analysis, priority needs to improve coherence“
Sašo Gorjanc (IWRS)
MEDCIS Workshops - Litter, 23rd February 2018, Athens
medcis.eu

2. Task 1.3: Adjusting GES and targets of marine litter
Work in this tasks builds on existing knowledge and achievements under legal commitments under EU MSFD and UNEP/MAP, ongoing developments under the EU Commission Decision revision (2017/847) and outputs from projects, that addressed marine litter in the last years
Focus on existing data in the Mediterranean sea on debris in the different compartments for macro and micro litter and microplastics

3. MEDCIS Deliverable 1.1
This document is the first main outcome of the MEDCIS Activity 1.
It determines the main gaps and priorities to improve the coherence of the approaches implemented by Mediterranean EU countries to define GES, set environmental targets and assess the gap between the actual status of the ecosystem to the GES
Here we will review the Marine Litter section of the report, authored by Galgani, F., Peterlin M., Kovač Viršek, M., Gorjanc, S., Zeri, C., Paramana, T., Chalkiadaki, O., Dassenakis, M.

4. Analysis of existing approaches for determination of GES and determination of targets
A number of key data gaps:
Unequal spread data-sets are available, while not all MSs have fulfilled marine litter MSFD monitoring and data collection
Some of the indicators are poorly covered. Esp. lack of data concerning offshore waters
Unknown marine litter and microplastics spatial distribution, pathways, and fate
Baseline and threshold values determined so far based on limited existing information
More information needed to determine optimum marine litter monitoring
Limited knowledge about negative effects of marine litter on marine ecosystems

5. The available information is not adequate for the Mediterranean MSs to set quantitative thresholds related to the reduction of marine litter stranded on beaches. Furthermore, this is even a larger problem for floating and seabed litter and microplastics.
It can be very challenging to detect clear reduction trends in the sea that can be associated to the implementation of measures in a particular area.

6. OVERALL GES ASSESSMENT:
All MSs, but Malta have defined GES at descriptor level
Generally, the amount of litter should decrease over time (all, but Cyprus)
Spain and France included marine litter degradation products in their definitions
The socioeconomic and ecological impact of marine litter was specified by France, Slovenia, Croatia, and Cyprus
France, Slovenia, and Croatia linked D10 to biodiversity descriptors
Only, Slovenia and Spain approach the descriptor in a quantitative way (baselines, thresholds)
Level of coherence is moderate
Level of integration with other EU/international legislation is rather low

7. Priorities needs in terms of methodology development and recommendations for improving coherence in the Mediterranean region
4 priority groups:
Sources
Modelling tools
Harmonization of sampling protocols
Harm
GES TG (Veiga et al., 2016) recommendations:
Data collection & site characterization
Allocation of likelihoods of marine litter items originated from different potential sources
Approach to attribute likelihoods
Step further to strategies & measures

8. Need agreed international monitoring methodologies for monitoring riverine litter
Harmonisation of sampling protocols for the sea floor and microplastics needed
Monitoring of impacts on biota is challenging
Entaglement
Ingestion
Chemical transfer (chemical contamination)
Vector for transport of biota
Socioeconomic harm
Risk assessments
Very limited knowledge regarding ghost fishing (costs and practical difficulties)

9. RESEARCH PRIORITIES:
Identify marine litter pathways (model simulations)
Marine litter hotspot mapping (focus on lost fishing gear)
Determine the sinks for marine litter
Design a GIS platform to support the integration of monitoring data
List pathogen and IAS settled on litter
Evaluate the effects of marine litter on ecosystems (ecotoxicological studies)
Evaluate the distribution of microplastics
Rationalisation of monitoring
Define specific baselines and targets
Identify new indicator species and define impact thresholds
Evaluate loss of fish stocks due to ghost fishing
Locate ghost nets to support collection

10. RESEARCH PRIORITIES:
Identify marine litter pathways (model simulations)
Marine litter hotspot mapping (focus on lost fishing gear)
Determine the sinks for marine litter
Design a GIS platform to support the integration of monitoring data
List pathogen and IAS settled on litter
Evaluate the effects of marine litter on ecosystems (ecotoxicological studies)
Evaluate the distribution of microplastics
Rationalisation of monitoring
Define specific baselines and targets
Identify new indicator species and define impact thresholds
Evaluate loss of fish stocks due to ghost fishing
Locate ghost nets to support collection

11. MEDCIS STRATEGY:
Promote and disseminate the master List of Categories of Litter Items and protocols to support harmonised monitoring
Focus on microplastics
Synthetic review of existing data on D10C2 & identification of the most relevant sources
Updating the existing protocols defined by GES TG ML
The harmonisation of protocols, data collection processes & the definition on baselines & targets
Analyse currently available data from different research projects & literature
Define baselines for microlitter
Possible specific measures for combating microplastics in the Mediterranean will be identified (alongside the targets)
Disseminate the protocols to the stakeholders and actors involved in microplastic monitoring and management

12. Thank You!