The Mediterranean is “drowned” with around 3,760 metric tons of plastic from its shores and from its surface to its bottom, according to a new Greek scientific study.

Researchers from the Institute of Oceanography of the Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR), led by Dr Costas Tsiaras, who published the corresponding article in the journal Marine Science “Frontiers in Marine Science”, have developed a new model which calculates the waste to come. land (rivers, coastal towns, etc.) and end up in the Mediterranean Sea.

Global production of plastic has increased every year since the 1950s. In 2019, an estimated 368 million tonnes of plastics were produced worldwide. A percentage of them are found in seas and oceans each year.

Among them, a large number of invisible microplastics (up to five millimeters) and macroplastics (over five millimeters) float in the Mediterranean, a closed sea with a big problem of plastic pollution. Densely populated coasts, fishing, navigation, tourism, etc. contribute to the problem.

Fears are expressed about the conservation of marine ecosystems because plastic pollution affects all levels of marine biodiversity, according to Greek researchers.

Plastics of all sizes are found on the surface of the Mediterranean, on its shores, on its seabed, and in the bodies of fish and other marine organisms. Some of these plastics end up being eaten by humans along with seafood.

HCMR scientists estimate that the Mediterranean receives a shipment of around 17,600 tonnes of plastics each year, of which 3,760 tonnes are currently in its waters. Of the total plastic pollution, an estimated 84% end up on beaches and the remaining 16% disperse in the water at greater depths or end up falling to the bottom.