‘Tara’ expedition findings

The aim of the Tara Mediterranean expedition, from May to November 2014, was to collect samples offshore, but also along the coasts, near the mouths of rivers, and in harbors, to study influences coming from land. At each sampling station, collection was done at the surface using special nets. The samples will be sent to partner laboratories for chemical identification of the collected plastic, analysis by microscopy, and also for studies of the living organisms colonizing the plastic, and the interaction between zooplankton (the base of the marine food chain) and plastic.

Tara Mediterranean’s scientific director Gaby Gorsky and the expedition’s scientific coordinator Maria Luiza Pedrotti, said: “Plastic fragments were found in every net haul, throughout the entire Mediterranean from west to east. Greater concentrations of plastic were observed near big cities, but there were also significant concentrations in the high seas.”

The Tara Mediterranean expedition visited 13 countries with 20 stopovers (in France, Italy, Monaco, Albania, Greece, Lebanon, Cyprus, Malta, Tunisia, Algeria, Spain, Morocco and Portugal).

Analyses of samples will begin in December, and the first results will be published in spring 2015.

By Rachael Doyle