This report provides an update and further assessment of the sources, fate and effects of microplastics in the marine environment. It follows the publication of the first assessment report in this series in April 2015. It presents an initial risk assessment framework and describes some basic principles about risk, likelihood and consequence, and provides a conceptual framework and two case examples of how the frame work can be utilized.
The distribution of microplastics in the five main ocean compartments (sea surface, water column, shoreline, seabed and biota) are described, together with the transport mechanisms that regulate fluxes between compartments. The current understanding of the interaction of plastic- associated chemicals with biota is reviewed, using laboratory-based experiments, theoretical studies and field-based observations. The assessment considers the possible effect of micro- plastics on commercial fish and shellfish, and the economic aspects of microplastic contamination.
The Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) is an advisory body, established in 1969, that advises the United Nations (UN) system on the scientific aspects of marine environmental protection.