Litter is present in all marine waters around the globe. It consists of several compound classes of

Litter is present in all marine waters around the globe. It consists of several compound classes of which plastic is of special interest because of its high abundance and possible threat to marine organisms.

Distribution, composition and abundance of large litter items at the sea floor of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea was investigated based on 175 bottom trawls between 2013 and 2015. In the North Sea and in the Baltic Sea plastic represented 80% of the litter items.