Assessment of fishing-related plastic debris along the beaches in Kerala Coast, India

An assessment of quantity, composition and seasonal variation of fishing-related plastic debris was conducted in six beaches along the Kerala coast of India during 2017–2018. Plastic items were the most dominant type of waste constituting 73.8% by number and 59.9% by weight. In the total debris recorded, 5540 pieces (36%) weighing 198.4 kg (39.8%) were fishing related trash. On an average 14.4 ± 12 fishing related items/100 m2, corresponding to mean weight of 0.55 ± 0.7 kg/100 m2 was recorded from these beaches. Results indicated that the fishing-related plastic items were concentrated four times more in the beaches with higher fishing intensity, as compared to the other beaches. Also, the concentration of fishing-related plastic was recorded higher in the post-monsoon season compared to the lowest during monsoon, which was significant with p-value < 0.05. The results emphasize the role of fishing activities in the generation of marine litter. •Plastic is the major constituent of Beach litter along Kerala coast (73.8%).•36% of total debris consisted of fishing related plastic debris.•Fishing-related plastic debris were 4 times more in high fishing intensity beaches, as compared to other beaches.•Fishing-related plastic was lowest during monsoon season when fishing activity is low.•Results point to the role of fishing activities in generating marine plastic debris.