Project

Overview

CleanAtlantic aims to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Atlantic Area by improving capabilities to monitor, prevent and remove (macro) marine litter. The project will also contribute to raise awareness and change attitudes among stakeholders and to improve marine litter managing systems.

The main objectives of the project are:

1. To draw a picture of current situation, existing knowledge, data and initiatives in the Atlantic regions and definition of gaps.
2. Review of current systems to monitor and record marine litter, and to deliver protocols, tools and indicators to fill monitoring needs.
3. Development of modelling tools to predict the origin, circulation, and fate of marine litter, and elaboration of regional maps of hotspots of accumulation using models, remote sensing technologies, and aerial, surface and underwater unmanned systems.
4. To address prevention by developing best practices to reduce inputs from fishing and port sectors.
5. To tackle removal of marine litter by implementing initiatives of fishing for litter, to reduce the presence of “abandoned lost and otherwise discarded fishing gears” on the sea-bed, and to develop best practices for routine beach litter clean-up by local authorities.
6. To deliver training and awareness activities addressed to various audiences and to transfer project outputs to competent authorities and key stakeholders to improve management and facilitate MSFD (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) implementation.