Data from studies monitoring the amount of consumer plastic eaten by sea birds suggest that levels in the North Sea are well above targets... and the figures are rising. For the most recent monitoring period, the target amount was exceeded in well over half the birds studied, with the English Channel being the worst affected region with 74% of birds over the threshold.
Data from studies monitoring the amount of consumer plastic eaten by sea birds suggest that levels in the North Sea are well above targets... and the figures are rising.
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For the most recent monitoring period, the target amount was exceeded in well over half the birds studied, with the English Channel being the worst affected region with 74% of birds over the threshold.
One of the main legal instruments safeguarding the North Sea is the Oslo and Paris Convention (OSPAR), an agreement between 15 West European countries, together with the European Commission, to protect the marine environment of the northeast Atlantic and to prevent human health effects related to its pollution and deterioration.
Since the Convention was signed in 1992, the OSPAR Commission, in partnership with the International Council for Exploration of the Sea, has developed ecological quality objectives (EcoQOs) to provide indicators for the status of the marine environment. OSPAR EcoQOs include indicators for marine mammals that require monitoring of annual by-catch and targets for the weight of spawning fish among commercial species.
Article continues: http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/122880-three-quarters-of-english-channel-sea-birds-contain-toxic-levels-of-plastic.html
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