Maritalea mediterranea sp. nov., isolated from marine plastic residues.

A novel Gram-reaction-negative, aerobic, motile, rod-shaped, grey bacterium, strain P4.10XT, was isolated from plastic debris sampled from shallow waters in the Mediterranean Sea (Valencia, Spain). P4.10XT was catalase- and oxidase-positive, and grew under mesophilic, neutrophilic and halophilic conditions. The 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that P4.10XT was closely related to Maritalea myrionectae DSM 19524T and Maritalea mobilis E6T (98.25 and 98.03 % sequence similarity, respectively). The DNA G+C content of the genome sequence of P4.10XT was 53.66 %. The genomic indexes average nucleotide identity by blast (ANIb) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) confirmed its classification as representing a novel species of the genus Maritalea. The predominant fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c/C18 : 1ω6c) and C18 : 1 ω7c 11-methyl. The results of this polyphasic study confirm that P4.10XT represents a novel species of the genus Maritalea, for which the name Maritalea mediterranea sp. nov. is proposed (type strain P4.10XT=CECT 30306T = DSM 112386T).

Mitigating persistent organic pollutants from marine plastics through enhanced recycling: A review.

The escalating crisis of marine plastic waste pose threats to the marine ecosystems. Statistics revealed that a staggering 8 MMT of plastic inundates the marine atmosphere annually. This review delves into a pivotal aspect of this issue, examining the release of additives like brominated flame retardants, phthalates, and bisphenol A from plastic into the environment. It also underscores the concealed chemical hazards plastic introduces to the marine ecosystem's air, water, and sediment. As plastic degrades and breaks down, it generates microplastics and nanoplastics, exacerbating the widespread detrimental effects on marine life and even affecting terrestrial ecosystems, imperiling the overall health and stability of various organisms. While mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, and dissolution-reprecipitation demonstrated potential in addressing marine plastic debris, further research and development are needed to surmount associated challenges to increase the efficiency of current recycling method. This comprehensive review elaborates on the current fate and consequences associated with plastic pollution in marine environments. It emphasizes the urgent need for initiatives to confront this imminent ecological crisis, accentuating the necessity of protecting the marine environment and their delicate ecosystems from the pervasive threat of plastic waste.

Fishing plastic waste: Knowns and known unknowns.

Plastics entering the marine environment primarily originate from land-based sources, prompting significant attention on single-use plastic packaging. However, fishing plastic waste also contributes substantially to marine plastic pollution, though it is often overlooked in the literature due to the challenges in pinpointing pollution sources. This study addresses this key knowledge gap by synthesizing existing literature to explore and document the knowns and known unknowns surrounding fishing plastic waste's environmental, health, and socio-economic impacts. Through the development of a causal loop diagram, the study offers a preliminary understanding of the issue, serving as a foundation for a deeper exploration of the complexities within the fishing industry's plastic waste dynamics. Finally, the study highlights that short-sighted views and approaches are likely to lead to systemic failures. Therefore, it advocates for strategic and meaningful measures to tackle marine plastic pollution, emphasizing the critical importance of a holistic and integrated understanding of the various plastic waste streams infiltrating and polluting our oceans.

Roles and interrelation between variables : a study case of plastic waste management in Jakarta Bay.

The accumulation of plastic waste in the marine environment has increased the global risk of marine pollution due to its negative impact on land, ecosystems, and especially the food chain and marine organisms. Ineffective plastic waste management has reduced the quality of the coastal environment including community sanitation and health, landscapes, and coastal views, and influenced economic sectors such as tourism, fisheries, and shipping. The economic and public activities within coastal areas have consistently as the source of plastic waste leakage either directly or indirectly. Various variables involved and connected each other, some influential and other existing variables were not working effectively and do not support each other optimally in the system. The policy without limitation on the plastic production and certain type of plastic such as packaging or single-use, bags, and a lack of management capacity have led to the establishment of a burden on current plastic waste management within the coastal and marine of Jakarta Bay. Therefore, the study aims to analyze the roles and interrelation of variables that influence plastic waste management in Jakarta Bay. Public participation through group discussion, interview, and Micmac analysis method was used to identify, map, and analyze their interrelationships, roles, and hierarchy in the plastic waste management system. The results showed that the dynamics of variables' interaction affect their level of performance and contribution. The variables with strong influence have the potential to strengthen others, while some had a high dependence which was vulnerable to have ineffective performance in the waste management system as their stability relied on other variables' performance. A group of variables were greatly affected by others and indicates that they had lower influence and higher dependence, while the rest of the variables were relatively disconnected from the system. The key to better waste management is to improve the performance and the quality of relationships of variables that were found in the influential and intermediate quadrants. Furthermore, the indirect influence variables also need to be considered as they have the potential to contribute to the future system strategy or scenario planning.