University of the Sunshine Coast
A new study has identified the most likely cause of ocean rubbish hotspots in Australia and the risk to four endangered species – green sea turtles, dugongs, Australian sea lions and flesh-footed shearwaters.
Led by the University of the Sunshine Coast, the research team created a ‘hotspots debris map’ using a database of over 24,000 beach surveys of marine and coastal debris, collated by Tangaroa Blue Foundation in the Australian Marine Debris Initiative over ten years.
The entire east coast of Australia experiences constant exposure of debris, according to the study published recently in Global Change Biology, with high accumulation of rubbish linked to areas with high rainfall, closeness to major ports, mangroves and urban areas.
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