Stranded marine debris on the touristic beaches in the south of Bali Island, Indonesia: The spatiotemporal abundance and characteristic

Stranded marine debris (MD) has become a hot topic on Bali Island because it threatens coastal tourism sustainability. This study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal abundance and characteristics of MD on 14 touristic beaches in Bali Island. Sampling is carried out twice every season by adapting methods from NOAA's MD program. We found that the average MD abundance and weight were 0.356 +/- 0.366 items/m(2) and 4.057 +/- 3.892 g/m(2), respectively. Plastic dominated the MD based on abundance (86.9%) and weight (40.1%). Plastic bags, straws, and plastic cups are the most common items among plastics. The MD is originated from Indonesia and is dominated by land-based sources. The beaches are categorized as dirty in the rainy seasons and clean in the dry seasons. Statistically, the MD based on abundance, weight, category, source, and level of cleanliness varied significantly between seasons.

Automated summary

The study investigated the abundance and characteristics of marine debris on 14 tourist beaches in Bali, finding that the debris is mainly dominated by plastic originated from Indonesia's land-based sources and the beaches are categorized as dirty in the rainy seasons. Variances in abundance, weight, category, source, and cleanliness levels of the marine debris were significantly observed between seasons.