Rachida Houssa
Hassan Rhinane
Safia Loulad
Hind Maghloud
Abstract
Our oceans are polluted with a wide variety of marine debris composed from plastics, metals, rubber, paper, textiles, derelict fishing gear, vessels and others items. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) defined marine debris (MD) as any persistent synthetic or processed solid objects of various natures manufactured and used for the benefit of humanity, and that is directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally abandoned or discarded into the marine and coastal environment (either by rivers, sewage, storm water, winds, natural disasters), or accidentally lost during some maritime activities as consequence of many factors such the vandalism and the bad weather. Marine debris is a threat to our environment, marine life, the economy, and potentially human safety and health. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of marine debris pollution issue. We will focus on the Moroccan seafloor marine debris, its spatial distribution, areas of hot spot and the impact on marine life.
Keywords
Marine debris,
Seafloor,
Microplastic,
Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea.
