Temporal trends of marine litter in a tropical recreational beach: A case study of Mkomani beach, Kenya
2021
Okuku, Eric Ochieng | Kiteresi, Linet | Owato, Gilbert | Otieno, Kenneth | Omire, Jill | Kombo, Maurine Mokeira | Mwalugha, Catherine | Mbuche, Mary | Gwada, Brenda | Wanjeri, Veronica | Nelson, Annette | Chepkemboi, Purity | Achieng, Quinter | Ndwiga, Joey
Six marine litter standing stock surveys were carried out to determine the influence of monsoon on the temporal abundance and composition of macro-litter in Mkomani beach, Mombasa Kenya. Foam (0.073 items m⁻²) and plastic (0.042 items m⁻²) fragments had the highest densities. The brand audit indicated that 66.9% of branded marine litter was of Kenyan origin. Food product packaging contributed 78.4% of the branded litter with PET bottles being the most abundant type of packaging (48.2%). Foreign products contributed 35.6% of branded marine litter during South East Monsoon (SEM) whereas only 11.7% during North-East Monsoon (NEM). Worth noting, PET packaging dominated during SEM (53.6%) compared to NEM (20.2%). Mkomani beach could be considered “extremely dirty” with a Clean-Coast Index greater than 20. The study concludes that monsoons influences litter diversity, richness and evenness.
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