Plastic waste and marine wildlife
Annually between 5 and 13 million tonnes of plastic are lost from land to sea and end up as what is known as ‘the plastic soup’. Marine birds and other wildlife accidentally ingest plastic litter or become entangled. Wageningen Marine Research investigates the impact of plastic debris on the marine environment and its wildlife. Our institute is founder of a permanent monitoring program of plastics in stomachs of Northern Fulmars in the North Sea. Results are used by Dutch and European authorities to evaluate and plan measures to reduce marine litter.
News from previous years
News 2022
News 2021
News 2020
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Detonation cord in the stomach of a fulmar
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PhD thesis defence Susanne Kühn
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Fulmar report for the Netherlands 2019
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British fulmars confirm decrease in plastic debris
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Transfer of toxic additives from plastic to fulmars
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Volunteers are invaluable in fulmar research
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Global overview of plastic ingestion by marine wildlife
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Edwin Foekema and Jan van Franeker on regional television (Omrop Fryslân) about plastic pellets in the Wadden sea
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Industrial plastic pellets on Dutch television
News 2019
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Jan Andries van Franeker at De Buitendienst about plastic in fulmars
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Northern Fulmar and plastics – monitoring report 2018
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Fulmar mortuary
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Famous Fulmar
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Monitoring plastics in seabird stomachs
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Chemicals from ingested plastics
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Guillemot mortality after the MSC Zoe – the importance of long-term studies
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Again biobeads on the Dutch coast
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Paraffin and palm oil on the beach and in stomachs of Northern Fulmars
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Wadden Sea island Schiermonnikoog two weeks after the container incident with MSC Zoe
Publications
Reports
2021
2020
2019
2018
2016
2015
- Fulmar Litter EcoQO monitoring in the Netherlands - Update 2014 Van Franeker, J.A. IMARES rapport C123/15
- Impact of marine debris on Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at Cape Shirreff: diet dependent ingestion and entanglement. Preliminary result - 2015
2014
- Plastic ingestion by Northern Fulmars, Fulmarus glacialis, in Svalbard and Iceland, and relationships between plastic ingestion and contaminant uptake. Trevail, A.M., Gabrielsen, G.W., Kühn, S., Bock, A. & Van Franeker, J.A. 2014. Norsk PolarInstitutt Kort rapport/ Brief Report Series 2014-029. (24pp)
- Fulmar Litter EcoQO monitoring in the Netherlands - Update 2012 and 2013 Van Franeker, J.A., S. Kühn, E.L. Bravo Rebolledo & A. Meijboom (2014) IMARES Report C122/14. IMARES, Texel. 56pp
2013
- Fulmar Litter EcoQO monitoring along Dutch and North Sea coasts - Update 2010 and 2011 IMARES Report C076/13
- Nederlandse samenvatting
- Engelse samenvatting
2011
2010
- Fulmar Litter EcoQO Monitoring in the Netherlands 1979-2008 in relation to EU Directive 000/59/EC on Port Reception Facilities mei 2010 - IMARES
- Marine Strategy Framework Directive - Task Group 10 Report Marine litter - april 2010 - SETAC Conferentie, Spanje
2009
2008
Publications
2019
2018
2017
- Van Franeker, J.A., Offereins, M. & Domis, M. 2017. Plastic soep en Stormvogels. NVOX 42 : 520-522. (Magazine voor het Onderwijs in Natuurwetenschappen; Dec.2017). https://www.nvon.nl/nvox
- Does DMS buildup really explain plastic ingestion by seabirds? A comment on Savoca et al. Gaia Dell’Ariccia, Richard A. Phillips, Jan A. van Franeker, Nicolas Gaidet, Paulo Catry, José P. Granadeiro, Peter G. Ryan, Francesco Bonadonna (2017) Science Advances
2016
- The use of potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution as a suitable approach to isolate plastics ingested by marine organisms. Kühn, S., Van Werven, B., Van Oyen, A., Meijboom, A., Bravo Rebolledo, E.L. & Van Franeker, J.A. 2016. Marine Pollution Bulletin (online)
- Quantifying ingested debris in marine megafauna: a review and recommendations for standardization. Provencher, J.F., Bond, A.L., Avery-Gomm, S., Borrelle, S.B., Bravo Rebolledo, E.L., Hammer, S., Kühn, S., Lavers, J.L., Mallory, M.L., Trevail, A. & Van Franeker, J.A. (2016) Analytical Methods (online)
2015
- Seabirds, gyres and global trends in plastic pollution. Van Franeker, J.A. & Law, K.L. 2015. Environmental Pollution 203: 89-96
- Microplastic in a macro filter feeder: Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae E. Besselinga, E.M. Foekema, J.A. Van Franeker, M.F. Leopold, S. Kühn, E.L. Bravo Rebolledo, E. Heße, L. Mielke, J. IJzer, P. Kamminga, A.A. Koelmans. Marine Pollution Bulletin
- Elevated levels of ingested plastic in a high Arctic seabird, the northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis). Trevail, A.M., Gabrielsen, G.W., Kühn, S. & Van Franeker, J.A. 2015. Polar Biology
- Linking effects of anthropogenic debris to ecological impacts. Mark Anthony Browne, A. J. Underwood, M. G. Chapman, Rob Williams, Richard C. Thompson, Jan A. van Franeker. Proceedings Royal Society B 20142929 (11pp).
2014
- Monitoring Plastic Waste using FTIR Spectroscopy. Abstracts EUCMOS 2014 - aug 2014
- The OSPAR Ecological Quality Objective on plastics ingested by fulmars. Van Franeker, J.A.; & the SNS Fulmar Study Group 2014. International Marine Conservation Congress, Glasgow, Scotland 14-18 August 2014. Oral contribution SY71.1.
2013
2012
- Plastic ingestion by harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in The Netherlands. Bravo Rebolledo, E.L., Van Franeker, J.A., Jansen, O.E. & Brasseur, M.J.M. Marine Pollution Bulletin (2012 in press)
- Dietary variation in chick-feeding and self-provisioning Cape Petrel Daption capense and snow petrel Pagodroma nivea at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica Marine Ornithology 40: 81–87 (2012)
- Plastic ingestion by the Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) in Iceland. 2012 -article Marine Pollution Bulletin (in press, online)
2011
- Monitoring plastic ingestion by the northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis in the North Sea. 2011 - Environmental Pollution
- Van Franeker, J.A. & SNS Fulmar Study Group 2011. A standard protocol for monitoring marine debris using seabird stomach contents: the Fulmar EcoQO approach from the North Sea. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS-OR&R-38: 116-120
- Van Franeker, J.A. 2011. Reshape and relocate: seabirds as transformers and transporters of microplastics. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS-OR&R-38:278-280
- Van Franeker, J.A. & SNS Fulmar Study Group 2011. Chemicals in marine plastics and potential risks for a seabird like the Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis). NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS-OR&R-38: 415-418
- Marine Litter - Technical recommendations for the implementation of MSFD requirements 2011 - Joint Research Centre
- Plastic Debris in the Ocean. 17 feb 2011 - Chapter in UNEP Yearbook 2011
2009
- Monitoring the abundance of plastic debris in the marine environment. 2009 - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
- Foolish fulmars and their contribution to ecological quality. 2009 - abstract Proceedings of the International Research Workshop on the Occurrence, Effects and Fate of Microplastic Marine Debris