Riverine transport of floating macro litter to the Southeastern Black Sea

Marine litter, especially plastic, is the fastest growing environmental problem in the Black Sea. Rivers are recognized as the major sources of litter in the basin, but information on the transport of litter by rivers is still limited. This study presents the first estimates of riverine floating macro-litter in the SE Black Sea (Turkey), based on monthly visual counting in three relatively small rivers between January and August of 2020. Plastic represented 99 % of the identified items with fragments (2.5–50 cm) (40.3 %) and shopping bags (26.2 %) being the most abundant items. Riverine litter fluxes median values varied between 35 and 96 items/hour in three rivers. Results show that small rivers can carry a considerable amount of plastic to the SE Black Sea. This calls for increased monitoring of riverine litter transport to develop effective prevention and removal strategies for tackling the problem of plastic pollution in the Black Sea.