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Guidance for the sampling, identification and recording of marine litter

Marine Litter Protocol and Identification Guide

Year of publication 2024

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 28 p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Booklet

Synopsis (short abstract) Marine litter, especially marine plastic litter, is becoming more abundant in the ocean, and is having an increasing impact on human health, livelihoods and the environment. To reduce the amount of litter entering the ocean, and reduce the social, economic and environmental impact, society will need to adopt measures to reduce the generation of waste and improve waste management. Providing evidence of the distribution and abundance of marine litter, the location of litter ‘hotspots’, and the proportion of the various categories of litter, will help in the design and implementation of management measures to reduce the leakage of litter to the ocean.These guidelines have been developed for use by researchers in EAF-Nansen Programme Partner Countries to assist them in sampling, identifying and recording marine litter, to a consistent standard.

Cite this content as:

FAO. 2024. Guidance for the sampling, identification and recording of marine litter – Marine Litter Protocol and Identification Guide. Rome. 

https://doi.org/10.4060/cd1539en

Language English

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