Greenpeace Microplastic and Microfibre Report
A recent report by RESPONSE partners at Polytechnic University of Marche Department of Life and Environmental Sciences entitled ‘Microplastiche e microfibre in pesci e invertebrati campionati nel Tirreno centro-settentrionale’ is now available to access online!
This report presents the results from the analysis of microplastics and microfibers present in biota collected in the North-Central Tyrrhenian Sea (Mediterranean Sea) during the “Difendiamo il Mare 2020” campaign. This campaign was a collaborative effort between Greenpeace, UPM and CNR-IAS which aimed to:
Monitor the presence of microplastics along the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian coasts in three different marine compartments: water column (from surface to deeper layer), seabed and biota;
Confirm the presence of microplastic hotspot areas identified in the previous Greenpeace campaigns performed in 2017 and 2019; and
Optimise the sampling methods for microplastics and potentially nanoplastics extraction in water and sediment samples.
Sampling sites for ‘Difendiamo il Mare 2020’ campaign, conducted in 2020 in Central-Northern Tyrrhenian Sea (Image Credit: Gorbi et al., 2021)