We have finished the winter OSPAR campaigns, where together with volunteers we carry out marine litter monitoring on beaches of Gipuzkoa. This winter survey has not been easy due to the bad weather conditions on the Bay of Biscay, but we have really committed volunteers who help us to do the job.

In a beach monitoring like this is not enough to go to the beach and take all the trash you can see. There is a guideline on how to do it to have an uniform way of collecting the data on marine litter, which then allows to make comparisons among different regions. After the recollection of litter in the beach, the marine debris must be identified and the total number of each item must be counted.

Marine Litter collected in Zumaia

Marine Litter collected in Mutriku

Every year in each season we follow the OSPAR guideline for monitoring marine litter on beaches, obtaining a collection of data on marine litter in the area. Thus, with this dataset, we can have information on amounts, sources and trends of marine litter. Having this information is very helpful in order to focus on mitigation measures and to test the effectiveness of regulations on marine litter. Here we show you the curious items we recover from the beaches this winter.

Pieces of glass collected in Donostia

A buoy collected in Donostia

Some curious items foun in Mutriku

We look forward to the spring campaign!