The activity, in which the EOMAR group of the University Institute ECOAQUA participates, will take place on Thursday, 7th April
On Thursday 7th April, from 11 am, from the Playa Chica in Las Canteras, a new sampling to collect microplastics from a kayak organized by the Investiga en Las Canteras Project.
This project is the result of a collaboration agreement between the ULPGC and the Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and seeks volunteers to sign up for this activity who should register in the following form.
The day before, the first 10 people who have signed up will be notified to confirm their participation. The rest of the registered participants will be put on the waiting list for the next activity.
The Sampling is done every 3 months, coinciding with the 4 seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn and winter). The sampling in sand shall be carried out with a 50X 50 cm quadrat. The sea surface sampling is carried out once a month, with a small net blanket that can be operated from a kayak with the help of volunteers from citizen science and with the help of the company Salitre Sport that provides the kayaks and logistical help in the sampling.
Plastic pollution of the sea is one of the biggest environmental problems facing the world. Large-scale plastic production started only 70 years ago and has now reached 400 million tonnes per year. It is estimated that 79% of the plastic waste produced so far still remains in the environment. Canary Islands are particularly susceptible to plastic pollution, because they are in the route of the Canary Current, which carries all the waste from the east coast of the United States. In the Canary Islands, microplastic contamination levels were found on beaches with more than 300 grams per square metre of sand.
The EOMAR group of the University Institute for Research in Sustainable Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems (ECOAQUA) has been conducting studies on microplastics and associated chemical pollutants in the Canary Islands since 2015.
In the study carried out on Las Canteras beach, microplastic concentrations of more than 100 grams per square metre of sand were found, in a research paper signed by the researcher Alicia Herrera. These concentrations were highly variable throughout the year and this variability is associated with winds and flows, there is also a large spatial variability caused by coastal circulation.
On the other hand, in Confital Bay, concentrations of up to 1 million particles per square kilometre were found on the sea surface, among the highest values found in the scientific literature, probably because it is a closed bay and microplastics are concentrated there. The dry weight of microplastics was twice that of zooplankton, so a filter-feeding organism could be eating twice as much plastic as food. In addition, associated with microplastics are chemical contaminants that adhere to their walls and could pose a danger to organisms that ingest them. Studies of chemical pollutants in microplastics carried out in Las Canteras found high levels of DDT and UV filters derived from sun creams.
It is therefore of great importance to carry out studies in the area to evaluate the potential impact of microplastics on marine organisms living in the Las Canteras area.
This is the reason for regular monitoring of microplastics on:
1. On the surface of the sand, at the high tide line, in three areas of Las Canteras beach (La Cicer, Playa Chica, La Puntilla).
2. Sea surface within the Barra of Las Canteras (Barra Amarilla, Barra del Centro, Barra Grande)
3. Sea surface in three areas outside the Barra of Las Canteras (El Confital, Las Canteras, Costa Ayala).
More information: Alicia Herrera Tel. +34 675 216 425