LevelPressureShore

LevelPressureWater

LevelPressureSeabed

ImpactPressureWaterColumn

ImpactPressureSeabedHabitats

ImpactPressureFunctionalGroup

LitterShores10_1

LitterWaterColumnSurface10_1

LitterSeabed10_1

LitterWaterColumnHabitats10_2

LitterSeabedHabitats10_2

LitterFunctionalGroups10_2

HabitatsOther

HabitatsOther

FunctionalGroupOther

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

NotAssessed

NotAssessed

NotAssessed

NotAssessed

NotAssessed

NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

NotRelevant

NotRelevant

NotRelevant

NotRelevant

NotRelevant

NotRelevant

Marine litter is a problem that can affect the seabed, the water column and the coastline. It can pose a risk to a wide range of marine organisms such as seabirds, marine mammals and turtles through ingestion and entanglement (OSPAR QSR, 2010). However, the relationship between the types and amounts of marine litter in the environment and the degree of harm caused at a population and/or individual level are not fully understood.

Ireland does not have the monitoring data needed to characterise the level of pressure from marine litter in the water column.

Surveys of litter loads on the seabed have been conducted mainly using trawl surveys. This method is recognised as an acceptable sampling technique, but is nonetheless designed to catch demersal fish over a range of seabed types and is highly likely to vary in its efficiency at recovering certain types of litter, resulting in an underestimate of the true quantity of litter reaching the sea floor. Surveys of litter loads should be considered as a method for estimating relative litter densities rather than absolute densities (Piha et al., 2011, p. 26). The distribution of litter in the marine environment is highly variable due to temporal variations caused by meteorological and hydrodynamic events (e.g. strong currents in certain shallow waters), including seasonal fluctuations and are important issues when evaluating effects as these factors will influence the distribution and abundance of litter. Such variability needs to be taken into consideration for monitoring schemes (European Commission, 2011 p.51-52).

Marine litter is a problem that can affect the seabed, the water column and the coastline. It can pose a risk to a wide range of marine organisms such as seabirds, marine mammals and turtles through ingestion and entanglement (OSPAR QSR, 2010). However, the relationship between the types and amounts of marine litter in the environment and the degree of harm caused at a population and/or individual level are not fully understood. On the basis of currently available information there is little evidence of marine litter impacting on either cetaceans or seals in Irish waters or along the coastline. Plastic items have occasionally been recovered from both cetaceans and seals that have undergone post-mortem examination. However the impact/pathology of ingested objects in such cases was not determined (pers. comm. Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, National Parks and Wildlife Service).

Marine litter is a problem that can affect the seabed, the water column and the coastline. It can pose a risk to a wide range of marine organisms such as seabirds, marine mammals and turtles through ingestion and entanglement (OSPAR QSR, 2010). However, the relationship between the types and amounts of marine litter in the environment and the degree of harm caused at a population and/or individual level are not fully understood. On the basis of currently available information there is little evidence of marine litter impacting on either cetaceans or seals in Irish waters or along the coastline. Plastic items have occasionally been recovered from both cetaceans and seals that have undergone post-mortem examination. However the impact/pathology of ingested objects in such cases was not determined (pers. comm. Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, National Parks and Wildlife Service)

Marine litter is a problem that can affect the seabed, the water column and the coastline. It can pose a risk to a wide range of marine organisms such as seabirds, marine mammals and turtles through ingestion and entanglement (OSPAR QSR, 2010). However, the relationship between the types and amounts of marine litter in the environment and the degree of harm caused at a population and/or individual level are not fully understood. On the basis of currently available information there is little evidence of marine litter impacting on either cetaceans or seals in Irish waters or along the coastline. Plastic items have occasionally been recovered from both cetaceans and seals that have undergone post-mortem examination. However the impact/pathology of ingested objects in such cases was not determined (pers. comm. Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, National Parks and Wildlife Service).

The distribution of litter in the marine environment is highly variable due to temporal variations caused by meteorological and hydrodynamic events (e.g. strong currents in certain shallow waters), including seasonal fluctuations and are important issues when evaluating effects as these factors will influence the distribution and abundance of litter. Such variability needs to be taken into consideration for monitoring schemes (European Commission, 2011 p.51-52). The Irish coastline is approximately 10,139km (Resolution OSI 1:50,000) long, of which only 400 m has been used to derive the above summary information.

Ireland does not have the monitoring data needed to characterise the level of pressure from marine litter in the water column.

Surveys of litter loads on the seabed have been conducted mainly using trawl surveys. This method is recognised as an acceptable sampling technique, but is nonetheless designed to catch demersal fish over a range of seabed types and is highly likely to vary in its efficiency at recovering certain types of litter, resulting in an underestimate of the true quantity of litter reaching the sea floor. Surveys of litter loads should be considered as a method for estimating relative litter densities rather than absolute densities (Piha et al., 2011, p. 26). The distribution of litter in the marine environment is highly variable due to temporal variations caused by meteorological and hydrodynamic events (e.g. strong currents in certain shallow waters), including seasonal fluctuations and are important issues when evaluating effects as these factors will influence the distribution and abundance of litter. Such variability needs to be taken into consideration for monitoring schemes (European Commission, 2011 p.51-52). The amount (kg) of litter on the seabed represents the recovery of litter across a survey area of 66.6 km2 in 2010 and 60.08 km2 in 2011.

The necessary monitoring data and understanding of impact needed to provide an assessment of the environmental impact of marine litter on the water column and associated communities does not currently exist for Irish marine waters.

The necessary monitoring data and understanding of impact needed to provide an assessment of the environmental impact of marine litter on the seabed and benthic communities does not currently exist for Irish marine waters.

The necessary monitoring data and understanding of impact needed to provide an assessment of the environmental impact of marine litter on functional groups does not currently exist for Irish marine waters.

A total of 5,353 and 2,557 items were recorded over the course of sixteen 100 m beach surveys in 2008/2009 and 2011, respectively (An Taisce 2009, p.21; 2012 p.33). Although this indicates a marked decrease in litter between years, it is important to note that almost half of the litter recorded in 2008/2009 was from a single survey on the southern shore and is highly likely to be the consequence of a change in the course of a river which subsequently uncovered a large quantity of litter. It is not possible to establish the period over which the material was buried, but this incident suggests that there could be a considerable amount of litter retained in the sand (An Taisce, 2009 p. 15-16). Based on the data collected in the 2008/2009 and 2011 surveys, the vast majority of litter items on the Irish coastline were composed of plastic (≥90%). Other frequently encountered materials included metal, paper, sanitary items and wood (An Taisce 2009, p.21; 2011 p. 33). In a report commissioned by OSPAR, rope, cord and net are indicator items from the fishing industry and was responsible for the highest number of litter items recorded in the 2008/2009 and 2011 surveys although this was highly influenced by the single incident where a river changed course mentioned above (An Taisce 2009, p.23; 2011 p. 35). The 2011 survey included the category ‘Other’ which referred to large quantities of various sized plastics. This category was the second largest contributor to litter on the shore in both surveys Based on indicator items, litter originating from the tourism industry (crisp/sweet packets and lolly sticks) were the third largest contributor, followed by shipping (industrial packaging and strapping bands) and then sanitary items (cotton bud sticks) (An Taisce 2012, p. 35). With the exception of the category ‘Other’, the main contributors to litter on the shore in 2008/2009 were in the same order as those identified in 2011 (An Taisce, 2009 p. 23). All four beaches surveyed had variable litter patterns depending on the season and their proximity to urban areas. As the distribution of litter in the marine environment is strongly influenced by temporal variations caused by meteorological and hydrodynamic events (e.g. strong currents in certain shallow waters), including seasonal fluctuations (European Commission, 2011 p.51-52), no seasonal trends could be determined. On the beaches to the west, south and southeast of Ireland, the indicators used suggests fishing-related litter dominated. This is in contrast to that observed on the beach to the east of Ireland, which is close to major centres of population, where items recorded were largely related to the tourism industries. The survey beach to the east, which is close to a sewage treatment plant, had relatively high amounts of sanitary items (e.g. cotton buds) (An Taisce 2009, p. 5; 2012, p.35). As Ireland has participated in two OSPAR beach litter surveys, 2008/2009 and 2011, for recent trends in marine litter on the shore, a time-series of two years is insufficient to determine recent trends in litter on the Irish coastline. It will take improvements in available statically methodologies and several years of monitoring before enough data is available to robustly detect current trends across the selected beaches within the assessment area. Amount of litter on the coastline: A combined total of 2,557 litter items of all sizes were recorded on 100m stretches of the four beaches during each of the four surveys (An Taisce 2012, p. 33). Litter items are based on 100m surveys in which all litter items were recorded regardless of size. • 678 litter items recorded during four surveys over a 100m stretch of Long Strand (south coast of Ireland) (An Taisce 2012, p. 21). • 1,114 litter items recorded during four surveys over a 100m stretch of Silver Strand (west coast of Ireland) (An Taisce 2012, p. 26). • 86 litter items recorded during four surveys over a 100m stretch of Carnsore Beach (south – east coast of Ireland) (An Taisce 2012, p. 28). • 679 litter items recorded during four surveys over a 100m stretch of Clogherhead (south coast) (An Taisce 2012, p. 30).

Unknown due to the lack of availability of monitoring data and an understanding of the impact of litter on the marine environment.

Based on two years of standardised data collected by the IGFS in 2010 and 2011, the abundance and distribution of marine litter show considerable spatial variability. In both surveys, several possible litter hotspots were identified around Ireland’s coast particularly to the southeast where a number of density hotspots were observed in close proximity to one another. The presence of higher densities of litter around the south-east coast may indicate an area of accumulation, where litter gathers because of hydrodynamics, geomorphology or human factors. Litter recovered in the south-eastern region was composed of the following four categories metal, paper, plastic and wood. The average catch, across two years of data (2010 and 2011) was 0.99 kg/km2. Litter was frequently observed off Ireland’s south coast but no particularly obvious areas of accumulation were encountered. A number of higher litter density areas were observed to the north and north-west of Ireland in the IGFS 2011 survey. One particularly large haul was recovered to the north-west and was due to 27.55 kg of plastic at a single location. Off the west coast of Ireland, litter was less frequently encountered during the 2011 survey when compared to the 2010 survey. Overall, the quantities of litter recovered in the two sample periods look very similar, but highlight the sensitivity to chance encounters of large individual items at a single location. The result is high variance and the perception of a large peak or drop in values year on year (pers. comm. Marine Institute). The geographical distribution of marine litter is strongly influenced by hydrodynamics, geomorphology and human factors (Galgani et al. 2010, p.31) and so a more accurate assessment of presence and distribution would require a significantly greater sampling intensity. IGFS litter data spans two years. A time-series of 2 years is insufficient for the determination of trends in the data. It is important to note also that even with a longer time-series, the interpretation of temporal trends is confounded by hydrodynamics, geomorphology and human factors such as annual variations in litter transport, such as seasonal changes in flow rate of rivers. Other seasonal factors include the intensity of coastal and offshore currents, swell and upwelling as well as the topography of the seabed, which may influence both distribution and densities (Piha et al., 2011 p. 25). Amount of litter observed on the seabed: 2010: 0.113 kg/km2 2011: 0.753 kg/ km2 The amount (kg) of litter on the seabed represents the recovery of litter across a survey area of 66.6 km2 in 2010 and 60.08 km2 in 2011.

Marine litter is a problem that can affect the seabed, the water column and the coastline. It can pose a risk to a wide range of marine organisms such as seabirds, marine mammals and turtles through ingestion and entanglement (OSPAR QSR, 2010). However, the relationship between the types and amounts of marine litter in the environment and the degree of harm caused at a population and/or individual level are not fully understood. On the basis of currently available information there is little evidence of marine litter impacting on either cetaceans or seals in Irish waters or along the coastline. Plastic items have occasionally been recovered from both cetaceans and seals that have undergone post-mortem examination. However the impact/pathology of ingested objects in such cases was not determined (pers. comm. Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, National Parks and Wildlife Service)

Marine litter is a problem that can affect the seabed, the water column and the coastline. It can pose a risk to a wide range of marine organisms such as seabirds, marine mammals and turtles through ingestion and entanglement (OSPAR QSR, 2010). However, the relationship between the types and amounts of marine litter in the environment and the degree of harm caused at a population and/or individual level are not fully understood. The necessary monitoring data and understanding of impact needed to provide an assessment of the environmental impact of marine litter on the seabed and benthic communities does not currently exist for Irish marine waters.

Marine litter is a problem that can affect the seabed, the water column and the coastline. It can pose a risk to a wide range of marine organisms such as seabirds, marine mammals and turtles through ingestion and entanglement (OSPAR QSR, 2010). However, the relationship between the types and amounts of marine litter in the environment and the degree of harm caused at a population and/or individual level are not fully understood. On the basis of currently available information there is little evidence of marine litter impacting on either cetaceans or seals in Irish waters or along the coastline. Plastic items have occasionally been recovered from both cetaceans and seals that have undergone post-mortem examination. However the impact/pathology of ingested objects in such cases was not determined (pers. comm. Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, National Parks and Wildlife Service)

Low

Non related GES component

Low

Non related GES component

Non related GES component

Non related GES component

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Unknown_NotAssessed

Information on the presence of litter in Ireland’s marine waters is very limited. There have been only two surveys using the OSPAR methodology conducted on the shoreline covering 4 beaches of which 100m was monitored on each. Based on these very limited surveys, the indicators used show that the fishing, tourism, shipping and sewage discharges all contribute to litter on Irish coastlines. The main activities contributing to litter on the seabed may be similar to those contributing to litter on the shore, however the categorisation of IGFS data, does not provide a level of detail that allows the assignment of litter to a particular sector or industry.

Information on the presence of litter in Ireland’s marine waters is very limited. There have been only two surveys using the OSPAR methodology conducted on the shoreline covering 4 beaches of which 100m was monitored on each. Based on these very limited surveys, the indicators used show that the fishing, tourism, shipping and sewage discharges all contribute to litter on Irish coastlines. The main activities contributing to litter on the seabed may be similar to those contributing to litter on the shore, however the categorisation of IGFS data, does not provide a level of detail that allows the assignment of litter to a particular sector or industry.

Information on the presence of litter in Ireland’s marine waters is very limited. There have been only two surveys using the OSPAR methodology conducted on the shoreline covering 4 beaches of which 100m was monitored on each. Based on these very limited surveys, the indicators used show that the fishing, tourism, shipping and sewage discharges all contribute to litter on Irish coastlines. The main activities contributing to litter on the seabed may be similar to those contributing to litter on the shore, however the categorisation of IGFS data, does not provide a level of detail that allows the assignment of litter to a particular sector or industry.

Information on the presence of litter in Ireland’s marine waters is very limited. There have been only two surveys using the OSPAR methodology conducted on the shoreline covering 4 beaches of which 100m was monitored on each. Based on these very limited surveys, the indicators used show that the fishing, tourism, shipping and sewage discharges all contribute to litter on Irish coastlines. The main activities contributing to litter on the seabed may be similar to those contributing to litter on the shore, however the categorisation of IGFS data, does not provide a level of detail that allows the assignment of litter to a particular sector or industry.

Information on the presence of litter in Ireland’s marine waters is very limited. There have been only two surveys using the OSPAR methodology conducted on the shoreline covering 4 beaches of which 100m was monitored on each. Based on these very limited surveys, the indicators used show that the fishing, tourism, shipping and sewage discharges all contribute to litter on Irish coastlines. The main activities contributing to litter on the seabed may be similar to those contributing to litter on the shore, however the categorisation of IGFS data, does not provide a level of detail that allows the assignment of litter to a particular sector or industry.

Information on the presence of litter in Ireland’s marine waters is very limited. There have been only two surveys using the OSPAR methodology conducted on the shoreline covering 4 beaches of which 100m was monitored on each. Based on these very limited surveys, the indicators used show that the fishing, tourism, shipping and sewage discharges all contribute to litter on Irish coastlines. The main activities contributing to litter on the seabed may be similar to those contributing to litter on the shore, however the categorisation of IGFS data, does not provide a level of detail that allows the assignment of litter to a particular sector or industry.

• "Shipping & floating structures (all vessels
• TourismRecreation
• Wild fisheries

• "Shipping & floating structures (all vessels
• TourismRecreation
• Wild fisheries

• "Shipping & floating structures (all vessels
• TourismRecreation
• Wild fisheries

• "Shipping & floating structures (all vessels
• TourismRecreation
• Wild fisheries

• "Shipping & floating structures (all vessels
• TourismRecreation
• Wild fisheries

• "Shipping & floating structures (all vessels
• TourismRecreation
• Wild fisheries

On completing the analysis of litter monitoring data in Ireland’s marine environment and the impacts associated with litter, a number of key information gaps were identified. In relation to litter on the shore, Ireland reported on the OSPAR Marine Litter Surveys carried out over the period 2008/2009 and over the year 2011 for the purpose of the MSFD Initial Assessment (Article 8). Member States are requested to report on recent trends in litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points spanning four years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the shore were ‘unknown’, it is thus not possible to assess what the likely future trends will be. Assuming that Ireland’s participation in the OSPAR international marine litter monitoring programme continues, it is anticipated that future reporting will subsequently benefit from an increased temporal range. To date, there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface in Irish waters. Floating litter items play a key role in the cycling of marine litter between environmental compartments. There is a wide range of potential harm caused by floating litter items. Ingestion by, and entanglement of, marine biota such as seabirds, fish, turtles and marine mammals, with various sized objects affecting different species, is one impact from litter at the sea surface. Through physical degradation, floating litter items are converted to microlitter particles and the environmental impact of microlitter, particularly micro-plastic particles, are not understood but are of concern. Floating litter could potentially, act as a vector for the translocation of alien (invasive) species (Piha et al., 2011 p. 17). As there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface all reporting fields pertaining to litter in the water column and water surface are populated as ‘not assessed’. There are a number of proposed methods to address this particular knowledge gap. Recommended methodologies for monitoring floating macroscopic litter are primarily observation methods. Surveys can be undertaken with the naked eye or by using imaging techniques from different types of platforms such as fixed structures, ships or airplanes (Ribic et al., 1992, Veenstra and Churnside, 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18). No litter is actually collected and surveys will be subject to limitations caused by weather or hydrodynamic conditions. Protocols and reporting forms are available (Cheshire et al., 2009, NOAA, 2011, Thiel et al., 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18), but methodologies may need further refinement for the collection of Irish data for trend assessments. For smaller litter items surface nets or trawls can be used (Piha et al., 2011 p. 18). Initiatives such as KIMO’s ‘Fishing for Litter’ which involves fishing vessels bringing ashore litter caught in their nets may be implemented to remove litter from the water column (Piha et al., 2011 p. 29) and may be further developed to include an inventory of the recovered items. There are currently, no coordinated national or regional monitoring programmes for litter on the seabed within Europe. There are monitoring programmes for commercial fish stocks undertaken as part of the IBTS that can provide limited information on the weight and composition of litter on the seabed. In Ireland, surveys of seabed litter have been conducted using the IGFS. This method currently provides a broad view of the presence of seabed litter, but probably underestimates abundance. Surveys of litter loads should be considered as a method for estimating relative litter densities rather than absolute densities (Piha et al., 2011 p.26). Strategies to investigate seabed litter are potentially amenable to adopting approaches employed in benthic ecology, placing more emphasis on the abundance and nature (e.g. bags, bottles, and pieces of plastics) of items rather than their mass (as is currently recorded by the IGFS). Like litter aggregated along a beach strandline, litter on the seabed will accumulate to reflect local sources but will be influenced by bottom topography and currents. IGFS have been collecting data on marine litter since 2010. As with litter on the shore, Member States are requested to report on ‘recent trends’ in seafloor litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points (2010 and 2011) spanning two years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the seabed were ‘unknown’, it is difficult to assess what the likely future trends in litter on the seabed will be. Should Ireland’s participation in the IGFS continue, a longer time-series of marine litter data will be generated thereby enabling recent trends in litter on the seabed to be assessed with a degree confidence. Until this is achieved the possibility to prediction of future trends in litter on the seabed remains unclear. To date, there have been no assessments of the environmental impacts of marine litter in Irish waters. Therefore all reporting fields pertaining to the ‘environmental impacts of the pressure’ are identified as ‘unknown’ or ‘not assessed’. There is a need to qualify and quantify the impact of marine litter on marine organisms at both a population and community level. Impacts from ingestion and entanglement are known to be a source of mortality among a range of marine species, ranging between marine mammals, seabirds and benthic crustacea. There are, however, no clear conclusions on the impacts of these mortalities at the level of populations. Beyond a few studies examining the impact of ghost fishing, studies of litter-related mortality are rare for the vast majority of affected species. There is a lack of qualitative and quantitative data on the environmental impact of marine litter. The effect of ingestion on physiological condition, chemical burdens and reproductive performance also remains largely unknown. Linking population parameters directly to litter abundance in monitoring studies will be extremely complicated, because these parameters are influenced by a very wide range of interacting natural and anthropogenic circumstances, of which many are not properly measured and not sufficiently understood. Thus, expressing harm from litter on animal populations (including ultimately man) must be a combination of experimental approaches with data collected from animal populations in the wild. Validation of target species for monitoring ingestion and entanglement along the European coasts is required (Galgani et al. 2010, p. 39). There are still gaps in detailed knowledge on marine litter and there is need for further collaborative work at EU / regional or sub-regional level to establish the necessary monitoring tools and coordinated approaches that will allow the a better understanding of the distribution, trends, sources, fate and impacts of marine litter.

On completing the analysis of litter monitoring data in Ireland’s marine environment and the impacts associated with litter, a number of key information gaps were identified. In relation to litter on the shore, Ireland reported on the OSPAR Marine Litter Surveys carried out over the period 2008/2009 and over the year 2011 for the purpose of the MSFD Initial Assessment (Article 8). Member States are requested to report on recent trends in litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points spanning four years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the shore were ‘unknown’, it is thus not possible to assess what the likely future trends will be. Assuming that Ireland’s participation in the OSPAR international marine litter monitoring programme continues, it is anticipated that future reporting will subsequently benefit from an increased temporal range. To date, there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface in Irish waters. Floating litter items play a key role in the cycling of marine litter between environmental compartments. There is a wide range of potential harm caused by floating litter items. Ingestion by, and entanglement of, marine biota such as seabirds, fish, turtles and marine mammals, with various sized objects affecting different species, is one impact from litter at the sea surface. Through physical degradation, floating litter items are converted to microlitter particles and the environmental impact of microlitter, particularly micro-plastic particles, are not understood but are of concern. Floating litter could potentially, act as a vector for the translocation of alien (invasive) species (Piha et al., 2011 p. 17). As there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface all reporting fields pertaining to litter in the water column and water surface are populated as ‘not assessed’. There are a number of proposed methods to address this particular knowledge gap. Recommended methodologies for monitoring floating macroscopic litter are primarily observation methods. Surveys can be undertaken with the naked eye or by using imaging techniques from different types of platforms such as fixed structures, ships or airplanes (Ribic et al., 1992, Veenstra and Churnside, 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18). No litter is actually collected and surveys will be subject to limitations caused by weather or hydrodynamic conditions. Protocols and reporting forms are available (Cheshire et al., 2009, NOAA, 2011, Thiel et al., 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18), but methodologies may need further refinement for the collection of Irish data for trend assessments. For smaller litter items surface nets or trawls can be used (Piha et al., 2011 p. 18). Initiatives such as KIMO’s ‘Fishing for Litter’ which involves fishing vessels bringing ashore litter caught in their nets may be implemented to remove litter from the water column (Piha et al., 2011 p. 29) and may be further developed to include an inventory of the recovered items. There are currently, no coordinated national or regional monitoring programmes for litter on the seabed within Europe. There are monitoring programmes for commercial fish stocks undertaken as part of the IBTS that can provide limited information on the weight and composition of litter on the seabed. In Ireland, surveys of seabed litter have been conducted using the IGFS. This method currently provides a broad view of the presence of seabed litter, but probably underestimates abundance. Surveys of litter loads should be considered as a method for estimating relative litter densities rather than absolute densities (Piha et al., 2011 p.26). Strategies to investigate seabed litter are potentially amenable to adopting approaches employed in benthic ecology, placing more emphasis on the abundance and nature (e.g. bags, bottles, and pieces of plastics) of items rather than their mass (as is currently recorded by the IGFS). Like litter aggregated along a beach strandline, litter on the seabed will accumulate to reflect local sources but will be influenced by bottom topography and currents. IGFS have been collecting data on marine litter since 2010. As with litter on the shore, Member States are requested to report on ‘recent trends’ in seafloor litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points (2010 and 2011) spanning two years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the seabed were ‘unknown’, it is difficult to assess what the likely future trends in litter on the seabed will be. Should Ireland’s participation in the IGFS continue, a longer time-series of marine litter data will be generated thereby enabling recent trends in litter on the seabed to be assessed with a degree confidence. Until this is achieved the possibility to prediction of future trends in litter on the seabed remains unclear. To date, there have been no assessments of the environmental impacts of marine litter in Irish waters. Therefore all reporting fields pertaining to the ‘environmental impacts of the pressure’ are identified as ‘unknown’ or ‘not assessed’. There is a need to qualify and quantify the impact of marine litter on marine organisms at both a population and community level. Impacts from ingestion and entanglement are known to be a source of mortality among a range of marine species, ranging between marine mammals, seabirds and benthic crustacea. There are, however, no clear conclusions on the impacts of these mortalities at the level of populations. Beyond a few studies examining the impact of ghost fishing, studies of litter-related mortality are rare for the vast majority of affected species. There is a lack of qualitative and quantitative data on the environmental impact of marine litter. The effect of ingestion on physiological condition, chemical burdens and reproductive performance also remains largely unknown. Linking population parameters directly to litter abundance in monitoring studies will be extremely complicated, because these parameters are influenced by a very wide range of interacting natural and anthropogenic circumstances, of which many are not properly measured and not sufficiently understood. Thus, expressing harm from litter on animal populations (including ultimately man) must be a combination of experimental approaches with data collected from animal populations in the wild. Validation of target species for monitoring ingestion and entanglement along the European coasts is required (Galgani et al. 2010, p. 39). There are still gaps in detailed knowledge on marine litter and there is need for further collaborative work at EU / regional or sub-regional level to establish the necessary monitoring tools and coordinated approaches that will allow the a better understanding of the distribution, trends, sources, fate and impacts of marine litter.

On completing the analysis of litter monitoring data in Ireland’s marine environment and the impacts associated with litter, a number of key information gaps were identified. In relation to litter on the shore, Ireland reported on the OSPAR Marine Litter Surveys carried out over the period 2008/2009 and over the year 2011 for the purpose of the MSFD Initial Assessment (Article 8). Member States are requested to report on recent trends in litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points spanning four years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the shore were ‘unknown’, it is thus not possible to assess what the likely future trends will be. Assuming that Ireland’s participation in the OSPAR international marine litter monitoring programme continues, it is anticipated that future reporting will subsequently benefit from an increased temporal range. To date, there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface in Irish waters. Floating litter items play a key role in the cycling of marine litter between environmental compartments. There is a wide range of potential harm caused by floating litter items. Ingestion by, and entanglement of, marine biota such as seabirds, fish, turtles and marine mammals, with various sized objects affecting different species, is one impact from litter at the sea surface. Through physical degradation, floating litter items are converted to microlitter particles and the environmental impact of microlitter, particularly micro-plastic particles, are not understood but are of concern. Floating litter could potentially, act as a vector for the translocation of alien (invasive) species (Piha et al., 2011 p. 17). As there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface all reporting fields pertaining to litter in the water column and water surface are populated as ‘not assessed’. There are a number of proposed methods to address this particular knowledge gap. Recommended methodologies for monitoring floating macroscopic litter are primarily observation methods. Surveys can be undertaken with the naked eye or by using imaging techniques from different types of platforms such as fixed structures, ships or airplanes (Ribic et al., 1992, Veenstra and Churnside, 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18). No litter is actually collected and surveys will be subject to limitations caused by weather or hydrodynamic conditions. Protocols and reporting forms are available (Cheshire et al., 2009, NOAA, 2011, Thiel et al., 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18), but methodologies may need further refinement for the collection of Irish data for trend assessments. For smaller litter items surface nets or trawls can be used (Piha et al., 2011 p. 18). Initiatives such as KIMO’s ‘Fishing for Litter’ which involves fishing vessels bringing ashore litter caught in their nets may be implemented to remove litter from the water column (Piha et al., 2011 p. 29) and may be further developed to include an inventory of the recovered items. There are currently, no coordinated national or regional monitoring programmes for litter on the seabed within Europe. There are monitoring programmes for commercial fish stocks undertaken as part of the IBTS that can provide limited information on the weight and composition of litter on the seabed. In Ireland, surveys of seabed litter have been conducted using the IGFS. This method currently provides a broad view of the presence of seabed litter, but probably underestimates abundance. Surveys of litter loads should be considered as a method for estimating relative litter densities rather than absolute densities (Piha et al., 2011 p.26). Strategies to investigate seabed litter are potentially amenable to adopting approaches employed in benthic ecology, placing more emphasis on the abundance and nature (e.g. bags, bottles, and pieces of plastics) of items rather than their mass (as is currently recorded by the IGFS). Like litter aggregated along a beach strandline, litter on the seabed will accumulate to reflect local sources but will be influenced by bottom topography and currents. IGFS have been collecting data on marine litter since 2010. As with litter on the shore, Member States are requested to report on ‘recent trends’ in seafloor litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points (2010 and 2011) spanning two years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the seabed were ‘unknown’, it is difficult to assess what the likely future trends in litter on the seabed will be. Should Ireland’s participation in the IGFS continue, a longer time-series of marine litter data will be generated thereby enabling recent trends in litter on the seabed to be assessed with a degree confidence. Until this is achieved the possibility to prediction of future trends in litter on the seabed remains unclear. To date, there have been no assessments of the environmental impacts of marine litter in Irish waters. Therefore all reporting fields pertaining to the ‘environmental impacts of the pressure’ are identified as ‘unknown’ or ‘not assessed’. There is a need to qualify and quantify the impact of marine litter on marine organisms at both a population and community level. Impacts from ingestion and entanglement are known to be a source of mortality among a range of marine species, ranging between marine mammals, seabirds and benthic crustacea. There are, however, no clear conclusions on the impacts of these mortalities at the level of populations. Beyond a few studies examining the impact of ghost fishing, studies of litter-related mortality are rare for the vast majority of affected species. There is a lack of qualitative and quantitative data on the environmental impact of marine litter. The effect of ingestion on physiological condition, chemical burdens and reproductive performance also remains largely unknown. Linking population parameters directly to litter abundance in monitoring studies will be extremely complicated, because these parameters are influenced by a very wide range of interacting natural and anthropogenic circumstances, of which many are not properly measured and not sufficiently understood. Thus, expressing harm from litter on animal populations (including ultimately man) must be a combination of experimental approaches with data collected from animal populations in the wild. Validation of target species for monitoring ingestion and entanglement along the European coasts is required (Galgani et al. 2010, p. 39). There are still gaps in detailed knowledge on marine litter and there is need for further collaborative work at EU / regional or sub-regional level to establish the necessary monitoring tools and coordinated approaches that will allow the a better understanding of the distribution, trends, sources, fate and impacts of marine litter.

On completing the analysis of litter monitoring data in Ireland’s marine environment and the impacts associated with litter, a number of key information gaps were identified. In relation to litter on the shore, Ireland reported on the OSPAR Marine Litter Surveys carried out over the period 2008/2009 and over the year 2011 for the purpose of the MSFD Initial Assessment (Article 8). Member States are requested to report on recent trends in litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points spanning four years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the shore were ‘unknown’, it is thus not possible to assess what the likely future trends will be. Assuming that Ireland’s participation in the OSPAR international marine litter monitoring programme continues, it is anticipated that future reporting will subsequently benefit from an increased temporal range. To date, there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface in Irish waters. Floating litter items play a key role in the cycling of marine litter between environmental compartments. There is a wide range of potential harm caused by floating litter items. Ingestion by, and entanglement of, marine biota such as seabirds, fish, turtles and marine mammals, with various sized objects affecting different species, is one impact from litter at the sea surface. Through physical degradation, floating litter items are converted to microlitter particles and the environmental impact of microlitter, particularly micro-plastic particles, are not understood but are of concern. Floating litter could potentially, act as a vector for the translocation of alien (invasive) species (Piha et al., 2011 p. 17). As there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface all reporting fields pertaining to litter in the water column and water surface are populated as ‘not assessed’. There are a number of proposed methods to address this particular knowledge gap. Recommended methodologies for monitoring floating macroscopic litter are primarily observation methods. Surveys can be undertaken with the naked eye or by using imaging techniques from different types of platforms such as fixed structures, ships or airplanes (Ribic et al., 1992, Veenstra and Churnside, 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18). No litter is actually collected and surveys will be subject to limitations caused by weather or hydrodynamic conditions. Protocols and reporting forms are available (Cheshire et al., 2009, NOAA, 2011, Thiel et al., 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18), but methodologies may need further refinement for the collection of Irish data for trend assessments. For smaller litter items surface nets or trawls can be used (Piha et al., 2011 p. 18). Initiatives such as KIMO’s ‘Fishing for Litter’ which involves fishing vessels bringing ashore litter caught in their nets may be implemented to remove litter from the water column (Piha et al., 2011 p. 29) and may be further developed to include an inventory of the recovered items. There are currently, no coordinated national or regional monitoring programmes for litter on the seabed within Europe. There are monitoring programmes for commercial fish stocks undertaken as part of the IBTS that can provide limited information on the weight and composition of litter on the seabed. In Ireland, surveys of seabed litter have been conducted using the IGFS. This method currently provides a broad view of the presence of seabed litter, but probably underestimates abundance. Surveys of litter loads should be considered as a method for estimating relative litter densities rather than absolute densities (Piha et al., 2011 p.26). Strategies to investigate seabed litter are potentially amenable to adopting approaches employed in benthic ecology, placing more emphasis on the abundance and nature (e.g. bags, bottles, and pieces of plastics) of items rather than their mass (as is currently recorded by the IGFS). Like litter aggregated along a beach strandline, litter on the seabed will accumulate to reflect local sources but will be influenced by bottom topography and currents. IGFS have been collecting data on marine litter since 2010. As with litter on the shore, Member States are requested to report on ‘recent trends’ in seafloor litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points (2010 and 2011) spanning two years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the seabed were ‘unknown’, it is difficult to assess what the likely future trends in litter on the seabed will be. Should Ireland’s participation in the IGFS continue, a longer time-series of marine litter data will be generated thereby enabling recent trends in litter on the seabed to be assessed with a degree confidence. Until this is achieved the possibility to prediction of future trends in litter on the seabed remains unclear. To date, there have been no assessments of the environmental impacts of marine litter in Irish waters. Therefore all reporting fields pertaining to the ‘environmental impacts of the pressure’ are identified as ‘unknown’ or ‘not assessed’. There is a need to qualify and quantify the impact of marine litter on marine organisms at both a population and community level. Impacts from ingestion and entanglement are known to be a source of mortality among a range of marine species, ranging between marine mammals, seabirds and benthic crustacea. There are, however, no clear conclusions on the impacts of these mortalities at the level of populations. Beyond a few studies examining the impact of ghost fishing, studies of litter-related mortality are rare for the vast majority of affected species. There is a lack of qualitative and quantitative data on the environmental impact of marine litter. The effect of ingestion on physiological condition, chemical burdens and reproductive performance also remains largely unknown. Linking population parameters directly to litter abundance in monitoring studies will be extremely complicated, because these parameters are influenced by a very wide range of interacting natural and anthropogenic circumstances, of which many are not properly measured and not sufficiently understood. Thus, expressing harm from litter on animal populations (including ultimately man) must be a combination of experimental approaches with data collected from animal populations in the wild. Validation of target species for monitoring ingestion and entanglement along the European coasts is required (Galgani et al. 2010, p. 39). There are still gaps in detailed knowledge on marine litter and there is need for further collaborative work at EU / regional or sub-regional level to establish the necessary monitoring tools and coordinated approaches that will allow the a better understanding of the distribution, trends, sources, fate and impacts of marine litter.

On completing the analysis of litter monitoring data in Ireland’s marine environment and the impacts associated with litter, a number of key information gaps were identified. In relation to litter on the shore, Ireland reported on the OSPAR Marine Litter Surveys carried out over the period 2008/2009 and over the year 2011 for the purpose of the MSFD Initial Assessment (Article 8). Member States are requested to report on recent trends in litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points spanning four years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the shore were ‘unknown’, it is thus not possible to assess what the likely future trends will be. Assuming that Ireland’s participation in the OSPAR international marine litter monitoring programme continues, it is anticipated that future reporting will subsequently benefit from an increased temporal range. To date, there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface in Irish waters. Floating litter items play a key role in the cycling of marine litter between environmental compartments. There is a wide range of potential harm caused by floating litter items. Ingestion by, and entanglement of, marine biota such as seabirds, fish, turtles and marine mammals, with various sized objects affecting different species, is one impact from litter at the sea surface. Through physical degradation, floating litter items are converted to microlitter particles and the environmental impact of microlitter, particularly micro-plastic particles, are not understood but are of concern. Floating litter could potentially, act as a vector for the translocation of alien (invasive) species (Piha et al., 2011 p. 17). As there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface all reporting fields pertaining to litter in the water column and water surface are populated as ‘not assessed’. There are a number of proposed methods to address this particular knowledge gap. Recommended methodologies for monitoring floating macroscopic litter are primarily observation methods. Surveys can be undertaken with the naked eye or by using imaging techniques from different types of platforms such as fixed structures, ships or airplanes (Ribic et al., 1992, Veenstra and Churnside, 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18). No litter is actually collected and surveys will be subject to limitations caused by weather or hydrodynamic conditions. Protocols and reporting forms are available (Cheshire et al., 2009, NOAA, 2011, Thiel et al., 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18), but methodologies may need further refinement for the collection of Irish data for trend assessments. For smaller litter items surface nets or trawls can be used (Piha et al., 2011 p. 18). Initiatives such as KIMO’s ‘Fishing for Litter’ which involves fishing vessels bringing ashore litter caught in their nets may be implemented to remove litter from the water column (Piha et al., 2011 p. 29) and may be further developed to include an inventory of the recovered items. There are currently, no coordinated national or regional monitoring programmes for litter on the seabed within Europe. There are monitoring programmes for commercial fish stocks undertaken as part of the IBTS that can provide limited information on the weight and composition of litter on the seabed. In Ireland, surveys of seabed litter have been conducted using the IGFS. This method currently provides a broad view of the presence of seabed litter, but probably underestimates abundance. Surveys of litter loads should be considered as a method for estimating relative litter densities rather than absolute densities (Piha et al., 2011 p.26). Strategies to investigate seabed litter are potentially amenable to adopting approaches employed in benthic ecology, placing more emphasis on the abundance and nature (e.g. bags, bottles, and pieces of plastics) of items rather than their mass (as is currently recorded by the IGFS). Like litter aggregated along a beach strandline, litter on the seabed will accumulate to reflect local sources but will be influenced by bottom topography and currents. IGFS have been collecting data on marine litter since 2010. As with litter on the shore, Member States are requested to report on ‘recent trends’ in seafloor litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points (2010 and 2011) spanning two years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the seabed were ‘unknown’, it is difficult to assess what the likely future trends in litter on the seabed will be. Should Ireland’s participation in the IGFS continue, a longer time-series of marine litter data will be generated thereby enabling recent trends in litter on the seabed to be assessed with a degree confidence. Until this is achieved the possibility to prediction of future trends in litter on the seabed remains unclear. To date, there have been no assessments of the environmental impacts of marine litter in Irish waters. Therefore all reporting fields pertaining to the ‘environmental impacts of the pressure’ are identified as ‘unknown’ or ‘not assessed’. There is a need to qualify and quantify the impact of marine litter on marine organisms at both a population and community level. Impacts from ingestion and entanglement are known to be a source of mortality among a range of marine species, ranging between marine mammals, seabirds and benthic crustacea. There are, however, no clear conclusions on the impacts of these mortalities at the level of populations. Beyond a few studies examining the impact of ghost fishing, studies of litter-related mortality are rare for the vast majority of affected species. There is a lack of qualitative and quantitative data on the environmental impact of marine litter. The effect of ingestion on physiological condition, chemical burdens and reproductive performance also remains largely unknown. Linking population parameters directly to litter abundance in monitoring studies will be extremely complicated, because these parameters are influenced by a very wide range of interacting natural and anthropogenic circumstances, of which many are not properly measured and not sufficiently understood. Thus, expressing harm from litter on animal populations (including ultimately man) must be a combination of experimental approaches with data collected from animal populations in the wild. Validation of target species for monitoring ingestion and entanglement along the European coasts is required (Galgani et al. 2010, p. 39). There are still gaps in detailed knowledge on marine litter and there is need for further collaborative work at EU / regional or sub-regional level to establish the necessary monitoring tools and coordinated approaches that will allow the a better understanding of the distribution, trends, sources, fate and impacts of marine litter.

On completing the analysis of litter monitoring data in Ireland’s marine environment and the impacts associated with litter, a number of key information gaps were identified. In relation to litter on the shore, Ireland reported on the OSPAR Marine Litter Surveys carried out over the period 2008/2009 and over the year 2011 for the purpose of the MSFD Initial Assessment (Article 8). Member States are requested to report on recent trends in litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points spanning four years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the shore were ‘unknown’, it is thus not possible to assess what the likely future trends will be. Assuming that Ireland’s participation in the OSPAR international marine litter monitoring programme continues, it is anticipated that future reporting will subsequently benefit from an increased temporal range. To date, there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface in Irish waters. Floating litter items play a key role in the cycling of marine litter between environmental compartments. There is a wide range of potential harm caused by floating litter items. Ingestion by, and entanglement of, marine biota such as seabirds, fish, turtles and marine mammals, with various sized objects affecting different species, is one impact from litter at the sea surface. Through physical degradation, floating litter items are converted to microlitter particles and the environmental impact of microlitter, particularly micro-plastic particles, are not understood but are of concern. Floating litter could potentially, act as a vector for the translocation of alien (invasive) species (Piha et al., 2011 p. 17). As there have been no assessments of litter in the water column or the water surface all reporting fields pertaining to litter in the water column and water surface are populated as ‘not assessed’. There are a number of proposed methods to address this particular knowledge gap. Recommended methodologies for monitoring floating macroscopic litter are primarily observation methods. Surveys can be undertaken with the naked eye or by using imaging techniques from different types of platforms such as fixed structures, ships or airplanes (Ribic et al., 1992, Veenstra and Churnside, 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18). No litter is actually collected and surveys will be subject to limitations caused by weather or hydrodynamic conditions. Protocols and reporting forms are available (Cheshire et al., 2009, NOAA, 2011, Thiel et al., 2011 cited in Piha et al., 2011 p.18), but methodologies may need further refinement for the collection of Irish data for trend assessments. For smaller litter items surface nets or trawls can be used (Piha et al., 2011 p. 18). Initiatives such as KIMO’s ‘Fishing for Litter’ which involves fishing vessels bringing ashore litter caught in their nets may be implemented to remove litter from the water column (Piha et al., 2011 p. 29) and may be further developed to include an inventory of the recovered items. There are currently, no coordinated national or regional monitoring programmes for litter on the seabed within Europe. There are monitoring programmes for commercial fish stocks undertaken as part of the IBTS that can provide limited information on the weight and composition of litter on the seabed. In Ireland, surveys of seabed litter have been conducted using the IGFS. This method currently provides a broad view of the presence of seabed litter, but probably underestimates abundance. Surveys of litter loads should be considered as a method for estimating relative litter densities rather than absolute densities (Piha et al., 2011 p.26). Strategies to investigate seabed litter are potentially amenable to adopting approaches employed in benthic ecology, placing more emphasis on the abundance and nature (e.g. bags, bottles, and pieces of plastics) of items rather than their mass (as is currently recorded by the IGFS). Like litter aggregated along a beach strandline, litter on the seabed will accumulate to reflect local sources but will be influenced by bottom topography and currents. IGFS have been collecting data on marine litter since 2010. As with litter on the shore, Member States are requested to report on ‘recent trends’ in seafloor litter within their assessment area/s. The current dataset incorporates only two time points (2010 and 2011) spanning two years, which is insufficient for the determination of a trend. This conclusion reflects the European Commission recommendation that a timescale of six years or greater should be used for recent trend assessment reflecting one MSFD reporting cycle and is also in line with other reporting obligations (e.g. Habitats Directive) (European Commission, 2012 p.33). Therefore, for the purpose of the 2012 Initial Assessment, ‘recent trends’ in litter on the shore are considered ‘unknown’. The ability to predict future trends depends largely on our understanding of the variability and trends in present day and past conditions. As recent trends in litter on the seabed were ‘unknown’, it is difficult to assess what the likely future trends in litter on the seabed will be. Should Ireland’s participation in the IGFS continue, a longer time-series of marine litter data will be generated thereby enabling recent trends in litter on the seabed to be assessed with a degree confidence. Until this is achieved the possibility to prediction of future trends in litter on the seabed remains unclear. To date, there have been no assessments of the environmental impacts of marine litter in Irish waters. Therefore all reporting fields pertaining to the ‘environmental impacts of the pressure’ are identified as ‘unknown’ or ‘not assessed’. There is a need to qualify and quantify the impact of marine litter on marine organisms at both a population and community level. Impacts from ingestion and entanglement are known to be a source of mortality among a range of marine species, ranging between marine mammals, seabirds and benthic crustacea. There are, however, no clear conclusions on the impacts of these mortalities at the level of populations. Beyond a few studies examining the impact of ghost fishing, studies of litter-related mortality are rare for the vast majority of affected species. There is a lack of qualitative and quantitative data on the environmental impact of marine litter. The effect of ingestion on physiological condition, chemical burdens and reproductive performance also remains largely unknown. Linking population parameters directly to litter abundance in monitoring studies will be extremely complicated, because these parameters are influenced by a very wide range of interacting natural and anthropogenic circumstances, of which many are not properly measured and not sufficiently understood. Thus, expressing harm from litter on animal populations (including ultimately man) must be a combination of experimental approaches with data collected from animal populations in the wild. Validation of target species for monitoring ingestion and entanglement along the European coasts is required (Galgani et al. 2010, p. 39). There are still gaps in detailed knowledge on marine litter and there is need for further collaborative work at EU / regional or sub-regional level to establish the necessary monitoring tools and coordinated approaches that will allow the a better understanding of the distribution, trends, sources, fate and impacts of marine litter.