title: Sources, composition and spatial distribution of marine debris along the Mediterranean coast of Israel.
abstract: Marine debris (litter) is a complex problem that affects human activities and the marine environment worldwide. The Clean Coast Program in Israel has had some success in keeping most of the coasts clean most of the time, but without understanding the mechanisms of accumulation of marine debris on the coasts of Israel. In 2012, we initiated a study to characterize the types of marine debris, its origins and spatial distribution. Nineteen surveys were done from June 2012 to March 2015 on eight beaches that spanned the coast of Israel. Average debris density was 12.1 items per 100m2and 90% of the items were plastic. The top debris categories were food wrappers and disposables, plastic bags and cigarette butts. However, there was variation in the top debris categories among the beaches indicating that a flexible approach with multiple options will be important when addressing the marine debris problem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maritime Civilizations, The Leon H. Charney School for Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, 199 Aba-Khoushi Avenue, Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel. Electronic address: galia_ps@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Galia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pasternak
authors.affiliation: The School for Marine Sciences, Ruppin Academic Center, Michmoret 40297, Israel; The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, The Leon H. Charney School for Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, 199 Aba-Khoushi Avenue, Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel.
authors.forename: Dov
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zviely
authors.affiliation: US Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Ribic
authors.affiliation: Ecoocean Marine Research and Education, Sdot Yam 37804, Israel.
authors.forename: Asaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ariel
authors.affiliation: Department of Maritime Civilizations, The Leon H. Charney School for Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, 199 Aba-Khoushi Avenue, Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel; The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, The Leon H. Charney School for Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, 199 Aba-Khoushi Avenue, Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel.
authors.forename: Ehud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spanier
mesh_terms: D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014866:Waste Products; D014873:Water Pollutants
keywords: Ecology; Environmental protection; Marine litter; Marine pollution; Plastic