title: Monitoring plastic ingestion by the northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis in the North Sea.
abstract: The abundance of plastics in stomachs of northern fulmars from the North Sea is used in the OSPAR Ecological Quality Objective (EcoQO) for marine litter. The preliminary EcoQO defines acceptable ecological quality as the situation where no more than 10% of fulmars exceed a critical level of 0.1 g of plastic in the stomach. During 2003-2007, 95% of 1295 fulmars sampled in the North Sea had plastic in the stomach (on average 35 pieces weighing 0.31 g) and the critical level of 0.1 g of plastic was exceeded by 58% of birds, with regional variations ranging from 48 to 78%. Long term data for the Netherlands since the 1980s show a decrease of industrial, but an increase of user plastics, with shipping and fisheries as the main sources. The EcoQO is now also used as an indicator for Good Environmental Status in the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
authors: IMARES Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen-UR, PO Box 167, 1790AD Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands. Jan.vanfraneker@wur.nl
authors: Jan A
authors: JA
authors: van Franeker
authors: Christine
authors: C
authors: Blaize
authors: Johannis
authors: J
authors: Danielsen
authors: Keith
authors: K
authors: Fairclough
authors: Jane
authors: J
authors: Gollan
authors: Nils
authors: N
authors: Guse
authors: Poul-Lindhard
authors: PL
authors: Hansen
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Heubeck
authors: Jens-Kjeld
authors: JK
authors: Jensen
authors: Gilles
authors: G
authors: Le Guillou
authors: Bergur
authors: B
authors: Olsen
authors: Kåre-Olav
authors: KO
authors: Olsen
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Pedersen
authors: Eric W M
authors: EW
authors: Stienen
authors: Daniel M
authors: DM
authors: Turner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents; D009426:Netherlands; D009659:North Sea; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical