Workshop on microplastics in marine environments: pathways, toxicity and impacts on biota

Plastic litter enters our oceans from various human sources and activities on land. This is an important environmental problem and poses a risk for the health of marine ecosystems and human populations relying on marine resources such as seafood. The need for monitoring and research on marine plastic litter has recently been recognized both nationally and internationally, reflected by an increasing number of monitoring programmes, research projects and publications. Research projects funded by the Research Council of Norway (NFR) and the Fram Centre support new research initiatives on plastic pollution in Arctic waters. These projects develop sampling protocols for plastic particles at sea and from affected marine animals, ranging from tiny plankton organisms to commercially important fish and shellfish species. We aim to characterize the physical and chemical nature of microplastics and their ecological effects, including the potential economic losses for fisheries. The methods used by different researchers and monitoring organizations in this emerging field are currently, however, heterogeneous and often do not allow for regional or large scale comparisons. There is a need to assemble experts from relevant fields that encompass marine microplastics research (i.e. chemistry, ecotoxicology, ecology, and socio-economics). The workshop will lead to a better understanding of the uncertainties, knowledge gaps and potential of current approaches and to the development of abatement strategies.

Plastic litter is an important environmental problem and poses a risk for the health of marine ecosystems and human populations relying on marine resources. The need for monitoring and research on marine plastic litter has recently been recognized both nationally and internationally, reflected by an increasing number of monitoring programmes, research projects and publications. The Research Council of Norway (NFR) HAVKYST programme currently funds a project on 'Microplastics impacts in marine environments' (MIME) and the Fram Centre supports a new research initiative on plastic pollution in Arctic waters in the flagship Miljøgifter. These projects develop sampling protocols for plastic particles in situ and from affected marine biota, as well as analysis techniques to characterize microplastics and their ecological effects, including socio-economic impacts on fisheries. The methods used in this emerging field are currently, however, heterogeneous and often don't allow for regional or large scale comparisons. There is a need to assemble experts from relevant fields that encompass marine microplastics research (i.e. chemical analytics, ecotoxicology, ecology, and socio-economics). The workshop will lead to improved understanding of the uncertainties, knowledge gaps and potential of current approaches and to the development of strategies to tackle these issues.