Impacts of macroplastic and microplastic on the biology and ecology of marine megafauna

Global plastic production has surged to over 460 million metric tonnes annually, with approximately 20 million metric tonnes ending up as envi-ronmental waste (United Nations Environment Programme, 2021). This plastic pollution crisis has prompted the United Nations General Assembly to pass a landmark resolution, supported by 175 nations, aiming to combat and ultimately end plastic pollution (Bundela and Pandey, 2022). The res-olution highlights the severe impacts of widespread plastic use, including habitat disruption, prey reduction, and interference with migratory path-ways (United Nations Environment Programme, 2021). Impacts from marine litter, mostly large items of plastic debris have been described and well-documented around the world to have negative impacts on marine wildlife (Katsanevakis, 2008; Baulch and Perry, 2014; Kuhn and Van Franeker, 2020), including studies corroborating this information on more than half of all marine mammal species (61% of all pinniped, 68% of all ceta-cean species) (Butterworth, 2016; Eisfeld-Pierantonio et al., 2022).

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Plastics in the Sea: Occurrence and Impacts

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978-0-12-822324-6

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