Characterising marine plastic debris accumulations on Tobago coastal environments

Robison-Smith, Charlotte, Mason, Francesca. C., Cheung, Stephen J., Whittey, Kathryn E., Eastman, Devon, Eastman, Kimron, Mohammed, Ryan S., Fanovich, Lanya, Perkins, Sarah E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7457-2699 and Cable, Jo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8510-7055 2026. Characterising marine plastic debris accumulations on Tobago coastal environments. Journal of Hazardous Materials: Plastics , 100077. 10.1016/j.hazmp.2026.100077

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Abstract

Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) host biodiverse coastal habitats supporting endangered species and tourism-dependent local economies, yet remain underrepresented in marine litter research. Using the OSPAR beach monitoring protocol, this study provides a baseline snapshot of marine litter debris loads across eight rural coastlines in Tobago, four exposed to the Caribbean Sea, and four exposed to the Atlantic, surveyed between June and July 2024. A total of 2,404 debris items were recorded, of which approximately 69% were plastic overall, rising to 97% on Atlantic-facing beaches compared to only 16% on Caribbean-facing shores, where glass dominated. Plastic items were size-classified as macroplastics (>2.5 cm), mesoplastics (≤ 2.5 cm), microplastics (≤ 0.5 cm). Polymer types were identified using Fourier Transmission Infrared Spectroscopy. Atlantic-exposed shorelines were significantly more polluted, the most littered beach (Hope Beach) having 4.6 plastic items m-2, over 100-fold higher than the average litter density across the Caribbean-facing sites (0.04 items m-2). Polystyrene (PS) was the dominant polymer in the meso- and microplastic fractions, despite a national import and use ban on PS in Trinidad and Tobago since 2020, highlighting a potential redundancy of this regulatory mitigation strategy. This study identifies Tobago as an overlooked marine biodiversity hotspot vulnerable to significant marine litter accumulation in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) and establishes key baseline monitoring sites to inform broader regional policy.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Physical, Chemical & Environmental Sciences Schools > Biosciences
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
ISSN:	3051-0600
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	1 September 2026
Date of Acceptance:	24 August 2026
Last Modified:	01 Sep 2026 10:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/189258

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