Marine litter in the ports of the republic of Korea

Abstract

The present study aims to determine the amounts, types and spatial distribution of the marine litter on sea floor for the 129 sites covering all the ports under management of the Korean Government. The field survey was carried out during 1999-2000 using the Side Scan Sonar (SSS) method, which might be regarded as cheap and simple technique for the survey of marine litter in shallow waters such as ports. The number and types of the marine litter were analyzed from the image of SSS and then converted to the weight basis. Consequently, the total amount of marine litter in the Korean ports was at least estimated as 34,636 ton. The main components of the marine litter in the Korean ports were ropes (26%), followed by metals (23%), wire ropes (16%), woods (8%), automobile tire (5%) and others (21%). Copyright ？ 2005 by The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers.