Marine litter within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive

One of the most evident changes in the last half-century is the ubiquity and abundance of litter in the marine environment. The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC) established a framework within which EU Member States shall take action to achieve the good environmental status (GES) of their marine waters by 2020. Amongst the 11 MSFD qualitative descriptors, Descriptor 10 (D 10) concerns marine litter. Here we report the general strategy in support to the implementation of MSFD for marine litter. It includes various aspects such as scientific background, monitoring strategies and protocols, definition of good environmental status and targets and support to management policies.

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