Poster abstracts and manuscripts from the Third International ...

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little understood. Most stranded marine debris is from nearby
fisheries, with small inputs from more distant sources. Research
priorities in establishing baselines for quantities and types of
marine debris on Australian coasts are:
1) Development of standard accounting methods for classifying
and measuring quantities of beach litter, so that yields from
different places in Australia and overseas can be compared.
2) Regular and systematic collection of ocean litter at selected
beaches in different parts of the continent remote from human
land-based activities, and publication of audited yields of
this monitoring.
3) Experimental work on the dynamics of stranded marine litter
within sediment flux and energy dissipation in coastal
geomorphic systems.
4) Offshore neuston trawling linked to beach surveys, and
analyses of encrusting biota growing on floating and stranded
litter.
Wade, Barry A., Bevon V. Morrison and Margaret A.J. Jones
Investigation of Beach Litter in Jamaica
Environmental Solutions, Ltd., Kingston, Jamaica
A study of litter on Jamaican beaches was conducted between June
and September 1988 in order to determine the nature and extent of
the litter on beaches and its sources. Collection involved three
circuits of the island with- data taken from fifty beaches.
Results indicate that plastics are the most abundant type of
material (by weight and by number) and that litter is
concentrated in three main areas of the island (the north coast,
the east coast and Kingston and its environs). Most of the
litter found on Jamaican beaches is from local sources, although
there are some foreign influences (mainly on the east coast).
The litter studied was divided into three categories based on
identifiable uses - marine, recreational, and household. The
poster display will include pie charts, island bar graph and
photographs.