Global plan outlines steps to monitor and reduce marine litter worldwide

Marine litter is a serious environmental problem worldwide. Reducing it would require implementing a global monitoring system, agreeing on the use of common methods and protocols for data collection, and categorizing all components of marine debris. This involves a tremendous scientific, political, and social effort at the international level—one that cannot be carried out with the same intensity by all countries—given the magnitude of what is still unknown about the pollution of seas and oceans, particularly the deep ocean, where the vast majority of marine litter accumulates.