The Antarctic marine environment has relatively few direct sources of
man-made marine debris; however, there is concern over the dangers pos
ed to wildlife by increasing amounts of such debris, Between 1990 and
1995 beached debris was monitored at Bird Island, South Georgia, This
was part of a programme developed by the Commission for the Conservati
on of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to monitor compliance
with waste disposal under MARPOL and the effectiveness of additional
regulations to reduce entanglement of marine mammals and birds, Overal
l, and in all but one year, the highest incidence of debris occurred d
uring the winter months when 75% of all items were collected, The most
numerous category overall (76%), and in all samples since 1991, was p
ieces of synthetic line as used in the long-line fishery for the Patag
onian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides around South Georgia, Packagi
ng bands (6%) and polythene bags (6%) were the next commonest items, T
here was a substantial increase in the number of items found ashore in
1995 which coincided with an apparent increase in the long-line fishi
ng effort in the area, The increase in the incidence of synthetic line
found ashore corresponds to the increase in the proportion of Antarct
ic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella entangled in this material at South
Georgia in a parallel study, An increasing use of environmentally-awar
e scientific observers on all fishing vessels, leading to an increased
awareness of existing legislation, should result in less man-made deb
ris entering the marine environment in the area around South Georgia.
(C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.