Socio-economic impacts of marine litter for remote oceanic islands: The case of the Azores

Marine litter is present throughout the world's oceans, representing a significant threat to marine ecosystems. While most efforts have focused on assessing ecological impacts, information on the socio-economic dimension of marine litter is scarce. Here we provide a detailed assessment of the direct economic costs of marine litter for a remote region of the North-East Atlantic, the Azores archipelago. Face-to-face interviews were performed to quantify and characterise the costs of marine litter-related incidents and coastal clean-ups to 259 sea-users and 21 local authorities, respectively. Overall, marine litter pollution was estimated to cost a total of €710,698 (±195,181, SD) per year, which is the equivalent to 0.02% of the Gross Domestic Product of the Azores archipelago. Our results demonstrate that marine litter creates costs and inconveniences for a range of stakeholders engaged in marine activities and also increases the waste clean-up budgets of small communities living on remote islands. [Display omitted] •Direct economic costs of marine litter are quantified for a remote archipelago.•A sea-user spends an average of €1618 (±401, SE) per incident with marine litter.•Cleaning coastal sites costs on average €10,233 (±3597, SE) per authority/year.•Marine litter is costing stakeholders a total of €710,698 (±195,181) per year.•Marine litter creates costs and inconveniences for a range of stakeholders.