Assessment of Marine Litter along Four Sandy Beaches of Saurashtra Coast, Gujarat, India

This study aims to quantify the abundance and composition of marine litter found on four sandy beaches of Saurashtra coast, Gujarat during different seasons. The marine litter was collected on bimonthly basis from the coast and categorized into material and usage categories. The marine litter significantly varied temporally and spatially at P<0.05. The mean abundance of marine litter was found to be 66.76±4.24 items m-2 (19–158 items m-2) and mean weight 22.47±1.03 g m-2 (4.17–40.18 g m-2) per square meters. The results indicated that, Plastic litter occurs in greatest number in all four stations ranging from 59.71 to 76.98% of the items collected (Mean 66.82%). The temporal variation revealed that, the marine litter abundance varied significantly between the months (p<0.05). The highest abundance of litter was observed during the post-monsoon months. The major contributing factor for the accumulation of marine litter is the recreational activities which suggest that the land based source (78.50%) provides the major inputs to marine litter pollution along the coast. Management efforts, including frequent local waste and marine litter collection, are required to minimize the impacts of marine litter on the environment. The results of the study provide the baseline information about the marine litter pollution and assist the effective mitigation strategies.