Arch Environ Contam Toxicol

DOI 10.1007/s00244-015-0208-x

Distribution and Size Relationships of Plastic Marine Debris

on Beaches in South Korea
Jongmyoung Lee1 • Jong Su Lee1 • Yong Chang Jang1 • Su Yeon Hong1 •
Won Joon Shim2,3 • Young Kyung Song2,3 • Sang Hee Hong2,3 • Mi Jang2,3 •

Gi Myung Han2 • Daeseok Kang4 • Sunwook Hong1

Received: 2 March 2015 / Accepted: 30 July 2015

 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract The characteristics of the distribution of plastic microplastics was strongly correlated with that of meso-
marine debris were determined on 12 beaches in South plastics for most material types, which suggests that the
Korea in 2013 and 2014. The abundances of large micro- contamination level of large microplastics can be estimated
(1–5 mm), meso- (5–25 mm), and macroplastics ([25 mm) from that of mesoplastics. As surveying of smaller particles
were 880.4, 37.7, and 1.0 particles/m2, respectively. Sty- is more labor intensive, the surveying of mesoplastics with a
rofoam was the most abundant debris type for large 5-mm sieve is an efficient and useful way to determine
microplastics and mesoplastics (99.1 and 90.9 %, respec- ‘‘hot-spots’’ on beaches contaminated with large
tively). Fiber (including fabric) was the most abundant of microplastics.
the macroplastics (54.7 %). There were no statistical dif-
ferences in the mean numbers and weights of plastic debris
among three beach groups from west, south, and east coasts. Since the 1950s, global plastic production has increased
No significant differences were detected between the markedly because of its wide range of applications. If
abundances of beached plastics in high strandline and current consumption rates are maintained, the planet will
backshore for all three size groups. Spearman’s rank cor- contain an additional 33 billion tons of plastics by 2050
relation was used to determine the relationships between the (Rochman et al. 2013). The high levels of production,
three debris size classes. The abundance of large durability, and poor rates of recycling of plastics have
resulted in the accumulation of plastic debris across envi-
ronments around the world, including in remote areas, such
as the Arctic and Antarctic, and in the depths of the oceans
(Barnes et al. 2009). Plastics were reported to account for
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this 60–80 % of the total debris in the marine environment
article (doi:10.1007/s00244-015-0208-x) contains supplementary (Derraik 2002), and their impact on marine life through
material, which is available to authorized users.
entanglement and ingestion has been widely reported
& Sunwook Hong (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
[email protected] 2012). Furthermore, plastics contain harmful chemicals
1
added during the manufacturing process, adsorb toxic
Korea Marine Litter Institute, Our Sea of East Asia Network,
717 Leadersvil, 23-96 Jukrim 4-ro, Tongyeong,
chemicals from the environment (Mato et al. 2001; Engler
Gyeongnam 650-826, South Korea 2012), and the ingestion of microplastics by wildlife may
2
Oil and POPs Research Group, Korea Institute of Ocean
introduce toxins into food chains, leading to bioaccumu-
Science & Technology, 41 Jangmok 1 gil, Jangmok, lation (Teuten et al. 2009). These adverse impacts of
Geoje 656-834, South Korea plastics are ubiquitous and persistent, and it has been
3
University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-320, proposed that plastics should be classified as hazardous
South Korea (Rochman et al. 2013). Recently, UNEP (2014) estimated
4
Pukyong National University, 45 Yongso-ro, Nam-Gu, that plastic debris has cost $13 billion in damage to
Busan 608-737, South Korea ecosystems and issued a report that proposed the use of a

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‘‘plastic footprint’’ to manage the plastic burden in the Materials and Methods
environment. Arguably, plastic pollution is the second
most important global environmental issue after climate Sampling Locations
change.
Plastic typically fragments into smaller particles without Twelve beaches were selected along the coastline of the
substantial chemical degradation (Barnes et al. 2009; Korea (Fig. 1). To achieve representative sampling, four
Cooper and Corcoran 2010; Roy et al. 2011). As plastic beaches were chosen from the west, south, and east coast,
breaks into smaller pieces, the potential for ingestion and respectively. The beaches were randomly chosen from
accumulation within the tissues of animals increases sandy beaches considering spatial representation for each
(Browne et al. 2008), and the relatively large surface area coast and accessibility to sampling sites. In selecting the
of microplastics increase the likelihood of adhesion by sampling location on the beaches, taking into consideration
waterborne organic pollutants (Cole et al. 2011). Browne that numerous studies have collected marine debris along
et al. (2013) reported that microplastics transferred pollu- the high strandline (Hidalgo-Ruz et al. 2012), we also
tants and additive chemicals into the gut tissues of lug- collected samples along the high strandline on six beaches
worms, causing various biological changes. In addition, (Tae-An and Shin-An in the west, Go-Heung and Yeo-Su
Lee et al. (2013b) investigated the effects of micrometer- in the south, Ul-Jin and Kang-Reung in the east coast) in
sized plastic beads on the copepod Tigriopusjaponicus and 2013. However, we noticed that much of the plastic marine
reported that microplastics increased the mortality rates debris accumulated along the backshore on some of the
across two generations and caused a significant decrease in beaches. Heo et al. (2013) reported a higher abundance of
fecundity depending on the size and concentration of the plastic marine debris in the upper zone of the beach com-
microplastics. pared to the high strandline. Styrofoam in particular, which
In this context, it is crucial to investigate the levels of accounts for the majority of the plastic marine debris on
plastic marine debris and its characteristics on beaches to many Korean beaches, is very light, is easily blown by the
gain a better understanding of the status of plastic marine wind, and tends to accumulate near the vegetation line.
debris contamination in South Korea. High levels of Therefore, we collected plastic marine debris from both the
microplastics were reported in Geoje, located on the high strandline and backshore of the remaining six beaches
southern coast of Korea (Lee et al. 2013a), and a close
relationship was observed between the abundances of
microplastics and mesoplastics. According to these studies,
the abundance of mesoplastics can be used to infer the
levels of microplastic pollution and this is useful in locate
‘‘hot-spots’’ of microplastics accumulation. In fact, as the
particle size of plastics decreases, their detection becomes
more difficult despite their significant effects on marine
life. The small size requires significant effort to collect and
separate the particles, because they are not clearly visible
to the naked eye. There is a paucity of data on small-sized
plastic marine debris pollution on the beaches surrounding
the Korean peninsula (Heo et al. 2013), whereas large
marine debris ([25 mm) has been monitored nationwide
(Hong et al. 2014). In this study, we investigated the
abundance of plastic marine debris on 12 beaches around
the Korean peninsula and compared the densities of three
different particle size classes among the west, south, and
east coasts. We also examined the composition of the
plastic marine debris and analyzed the relationship between
the abundances of microplastics and mesoplastics. Finally,
we surveyed plastic marine debris along the high strandline
and backshore of the beaches and compared the abun-
dances between the two areas to elucidate the character-
istics of plastic marine debris accumulation on Korean Fig. 1 Sampling locations of plastic marine debris on Korean
beaches. beaches in 2013 and 2014

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(Bo-Ryeong and Bu-An in the west, Go-Seong and Tong- beach. The small quadrats and sampling methods used for
Yeong in the south, and Po-Hang and Sok-Cho in the east the large micro- and mesoplastics were the same as those in
coast) in 2014 to elucidate the differences in the abundance 2013.
of plastic marine debris between the high strandline and the
backshore. In both years, the surveys were performed once Statistical Analysis
in April and May to avoid the rainy season.
The mean particle number and weight of plastic marine
Sampling Methods debris on each beach were calculated using only the high
strandline data from 2013 to 2014 to avoid potential bias
The plastic marine debris was classified into three size due to sampling differences. ANOVA was applied to
classes: ‘‘large micro-’’ (1–5 mm), ‘‘meso-’’ (5–25 mm), determine the abundance and weight differences among the
and ‘‘macroplastics’’ ([25 mm). Particles smaller than west, south, and east coast beach groups. Log transforma-
1 mm were not included, because they cannot be identified tion was applied to normalize the data. The principal
and counted with the naked eye. component analysis (PCA) was applied to explore the
In 2013, at each site, we collected macroplastics from characteristics in composition of plastic debris among
within 10 large randomly placed quadrats measuring beaches. To elucidate the relationship between the abun-
5 9 5 m along the center ofthe high strandline (Fig. 2). In dances and weights among the size classes of large micro-,
the center of the large quadrats, we placed one small meso-, and macroplastics, Spearman’s rank correlation (q)
quadrat measuring 0.5 9 0.5 m from which we collected was used. We also used only the high strandline data for
sand from a depth of up to 2 cm and sieved the sand consistency. To compare the quantities of plastic marine
sequentially with 5 and 1-mm2 Tyler sieves (CISA, Bar- debris between the high strandline and backshore, the
celona, Spain) in situ to collect large micro- and meso- Mann–Whitney U test was used. Both nonparametric tests
plastics. The sieved materials were stored in zipper bags were used in our study because the sample groups did not
and brought to the laboratory. In the case of wet sand, display normality and exhibited large variances.
sieving was conducted after air drying in the laboratory.
We collected the plastic debris items from the large
quadrats and sieved sands and classified them into seven Results
categories: pellet, hard plastic, film, fiber (including fab-
ric), Styrofoam, foamed plastic other than Styrofoam Abundance of Plastic Marine Debris
(‘‘other foamed’’), and other polymer. The particle number
and weight of the debris items were recorded for all cate- The mean abundances of large micro-, meso-, and
gories in each size class. The abundance and weight of the macroplastics along the high strandlines of 12 beaches were
plastic debris were expressed in particles/m2 and weight/ 880.4, 37.7, and 1.0 particles/m2, respectively (Fig. 3). Bu-
m2, respectively. In 2014, we placed three large quadrats An (BA) showed the highest abundances in large micro- and
measuring 3 9 3 m along the high strandline and three mesoplastics (12,180.0 and 408.0 particles/m2, respec-
along the backshore to elucidate the differences in the tively). Po-Hang (PH) had the highest abundance
spatial distribution of the plastic marine debris on each (10.0 particles/m2) for macroplastics. The lowest

Fig. 2 Quadrat sampling methods for plastic debris in different size classes on beaches sampled in 2013 and 2014

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Fig. 3 Abundances of plastic marine debris on Korean beaches in each size class, expressed as number (particles/m2) and weight (g/m2). (Large
micro 1–5 mm, meso 5–25 mm, macro [25 mm)

abundance occurred in Yeo-Su (YS), with 4.0 and Composition of Plastic Marine Debris
1.2 particles/m2 for large micro- and mesoplastics, respec-
tively, and in Kang-Reung (KR), with 0.17 particles/m2 for The composition of plastic marine debris along the high
macroplastics. The abundances were highly variable among strandline is shown in Fig. 4. Styrofoam was overwhelm-
the beaches for all three size classes with differences of four ingly the dominant debris type in the large micro- and
orders of magnitude for large microplastics and two orders mesoplastics groups by number of particles (99.1 and
of magnitude for meso- and macroplastics. The mean 90.9 %, respectively), and fiber (including fabric) was the
weights of large micro-, meso-, and macroplastics were most abundant of the macroplastics (54.7 %). In the case of
0.58, 0.65, and 18.50 g/m2, respectively. The three beach large micro- and mesoplastics, Styrofoam was the most
groups from the west, south, and east coasts showed no abundant on nearly all of the beaches surveyed.
differences in mean abundance or weight (by ANOVA, Macroplastics, however, showed no well-defined dominant
P [ 0.05). composition among the beaches.

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Fig. 4 Composition of plastic marine debris on Korean beaches by particle number and weight for each size class (large micro 1–5 mm, meso
5–25 mm, macro [25 mm)

On a weight basis, Styrofoam was the dominant debris correlation between large micro- and mesoplastics in both
type in the large micro- and mesoplastics groups (74.6 and particle number (q = 0.951, P \ 0.01) and weight
41.2 %, respectively), and fiber was the most abundant of (q = 0.959, P \ 0.01). For hard plastic, a significant cor-
the macroplastics (38.0 %) followed by hard plastic relation was also observed between large micro- and
(27.0 %). mesoplastics (particle number, q = 0.658, P \ 0.05;
PCA revealed that the composition of beached plastic weight, q = 0.703, P \ 0.05). However, for film, a strong
debris in Yeo-Su (YS) was affected by totally different correlation was observed only in particle number
factors from all other beaches (Fig. S1). This pattern was (q = 0.863, P \ 0.01).
similar in number and weight.

Relationship Between Abundances of the Three Size Spatial Distributions of Plastic Marine Debris
Classes on Each Beach

The correlations between the pairs of large micro- and The abundances were compared between the high strand-
mesoplastics, meso- and macroplastics, and large micro- and line and backshore (18 quadrats each) using the 2014
macroplastics were examined using the high strandline data survey data (Fig. 5). In total, the mean particle number and
for the three size classes with Spearman’s rank correlation. weight were greater along the backshore than the high
In both particle number and weight, the total large strandline for all three size classes. For example, the mean
microplastics were strongly correlated with mesoplastics particle number of large microplastics was 3,312.9 parti-
(particle number, q = 0.932, P \ 0.01; weight, q = 0.778, cles/m2 for the high strandline compared with
P \ 0.01; Table 1). Weaker correlations were observed in 51,018.7 particles/m2 for the backshore. However, Mann–
particle number between large micro- and macroplastics Whitney U test revealed no significant difference between
(q = 0.608, P \ 0.05), and between meso- and macroplas- the high strandline and backshore (P [ 0.05) because the
tics (q = 0.623, P \ 0.05) than that of the large micro- and abundances of plastics in some of the quadrats along the
mesoplastics pair. No such correlations were observed by high strandline were higher than those in the backshore
weight. In composition, Styrofoam showed a strong quadrats (Figs. S2–S4).

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Table 1 Spearman’s rank correlation among the particle numbers and weights of beach plastic debris by size and type
Measure Pair Total Hard plastic Film Fiber fabric Styrofoam Other foamed Other polymer

Particle number large micro-meso 0.932** 0.658* 0.863** 0.000 0.951** 0.271 0.431
large micro-macro 0.608* -0.216 -0.024 0.092 0.648* 0.008 -0.653
meso-macro 0.623* -0.149 0.013 0.247 0.651* 0.231 -0.147
Weight large micro-meso 0.778** 0.703* 0.460 0.499 0.959** 0.572 0.398
large micro-macro 0.417 -0.214 -0.219 -0.306 0.559 0.223 -0.209
meso-macro 0.357 -0.067 -0.442 -0.225 0.671* 0.257 0.503
* P \ 0.05, ** P \ 0.01, large micro 1–5 mm, meso 5–25 mm, macro [25 mm

Fig. 5 Comparison of plastic debris abundances on the backshore and high strandline (large micro 1–5 mm, meso 5–25 mm, macro [25 mm)

Discussion case (Ivar do Sul et al. 2009). In particular, the levels of

microplastics on Korean beaches were 1–3 orders of
Levels of Plastic Marine Debris on Beaches in South magnitude higher than in other areas around the world.
Korea This comparison has limitations because the sampling
methods and classification systems differed among the
To assess the levels of plastic marine debris contamination studies. Most of the previous surveys were conducted along
in Korean beaches, we compared our abundance data with the high strandline. However, the high levels of plastic
those of previous studies performed in southern Korea and debris contamination along the backshores for all size
other countries (Table 2). The levels of plastic marine classes found in the present study suggests that surveys,
debris (from the strandline) in Korea were comparable to including only the high strandline may not reflect the actual
those of other countries across all size classes. When data contamination level of selected beaches.
from the high strandline and backshore were combined, the The abundance of plastic marine debris along the high
levels of plastic marine debris were highest in all size strandline showed considerable variation among the bea-
classes in Korea, except for macroplastics in a Brazilian ches surveyed (Fig. 3). The highest levels of plastic marine

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Table 2 Abundance of plastic marine debris on beaches around the world (abundances except those from Korea were recalculated using data in
the references)
Group Size (mm) Abundance (particles/m2) Location Reference

Micro-plastics 2–5 1807.3 Hong Kong Zurcher (2009)

1–5 59.8 Brazil Ivar do Sul et al. (2009)
1–4.75 4216.1 Hawaii McDermid and McMullen (2004)
1–5 31.8 Portugal Martins and Sobral (2011)
1–5 14,162.0 Korea Lee et al. (2013a)
1–5 880.4 Korea This study (strandline only)
1–5 27,165.8 Korea This study (strandline & backshore)
Meso-plastics 5–15 544.6 Hong Kong Zurcher (2009)
5–15 64.4 Brazil Ivar do Sul et al. (2009)
4.75–15 450.3 Hawaii McDermid and McMullen (2004)
5–25 237.7 Korea Lee et al. (2013a)
5–25 37.7 Korea This study (strandline only)
5–25 897.3 Korea This study (strandline & backshore)
Macro-plastics [20 0.9 Turkey Topçu et al. (2013)
[20 29.1 Brazil Ivar do Sul et al. (2009)
[25 1.0 Korea Lee et al. (2013a)
[25 1.0 Korea This study (strandline only)
[25 3.9 Korea This study (strandline & backshore)

debris by particle number were recorded in BA on the west Styrofoam also accounted for most of the mesoplasticsby
coast in the large micro- and mesoplastics groups, and the particle number (74.6 %). Styrofoam buoys extensively
lowest in YS on the south coast. In BA, various sizes of used in aquaculture farms along the Korean coast are the
particles from Styrofoam buoys were accumulated along most likely source of Styrofoam particles on the beaches.
the backshore, and Styrofoam accounted for 99.99 % of the The results from the Korea National Marine Debris Mon-
total large microplastics and 100 % of the total mesoplas- itoring Program showed that Styrofoam buoys have been
tics on this beach. In contrast, in YS, no Styrofoam was the most abundant item on Korean beaches among 100
found among the large micro- and mesoplastics. The debris types ([25 mm) since 2008, accounting for more
abundance of plastic debris was very low in YS, which was than 10 % of the total marine debris by particle number
solely located apart from all other beaches in PCA plots (Hong et al. 2014; Lee et al. 2013a). In the present study,
(Fig. S1). This result suggested that Styrofoam makes a Styrofoam was the most abundant debris type, accounting
substantial contribution to the levels of large micro- and for 35.6 % of macroplastics by particle number. Styrofoam
mesoplastics in Korea. The three beach groups of west, is made of numerous small granules and breaks down more
south, and east coasts did not show any significant differ- easily into small pieces than other plastics (Gregory and
ences across all size classes, partly because the variances in Andrady 2003). These buoys appear to contribute large
abundance of large micro-, meso-, and macroplastics were amounts of large micro- and meso-sized Styrofoam parti-
high among the beaches. Surface samples collected in this cles on Korean beaches. Other studies (Heo et al. 2013; Lee
study, however, only revealed snapshots of marine debris et al. 2013a) also indicated that Styrofoam buoys from
particles that newly arrived in the beaches. This study also aquaculture represent the main source of large microplas-
has limitations in understanding different dynamics of tics in Korea.
debris particles in strandline and backshore because the Styrofoam marine debris has various impacts on wild-
surveys were point observations. life. It was reported that Northern gannets died after
ingesting Styrofoam (Dickerman and Goelet 1987), and
Source of High Styrofoam Levels Styrofoam was observed in the guts of Northern fulmars
(Provencher et al. 2009) and loggerhead sea turtles (Lazar
Styrofoam levels were exceptionally high in the large et al. 2011). Recently, Rani et al. (2014) detected
microplastics group, both in terms of particle number and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), which is a brominated
weight (99.1 % by particle number and 96.5 % by weight). flame retardant (BFR), from Styrofoam buoys, and

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discovered that it was leached into seawater over a short understand dynamics and impacts of plastic marine debris
time. Due to its ability to cause neurological toxicity and in the marine environment to improve policy instruments
endocrine impairment, the European Union has placed and raise public awareness.
BFR in the persistent bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT)
chemical list and regulates its use (Roosens et al. 2010). As Relationships Among Different Size Classes
the levels of micro-sized Styrofoam particles are increasing
in the ocean, the probability of its consumption by marine The abundance of large microplastics displayed the highest
life is high. As a result, Styrofoam moves up the food web correlation with the abundance of mesoplastics both in
and may transfer organic pollutants to wildlife. In this particle number and weight among three size classes. This
context, there is an urgent requirement to implement result supports the previous observations by Lee et al.
measures to address Styrofoam buoy debris in Korea. (2013a) who found the strong correlation between the
There are several possible reasons why large amounts of abundance of large microplastics and that of mesoplastics
Styrofoam are released into the marine environment in on six beaches in the southern coast of Korea in 2012.
Korea (Lee et al. 2015). First, a very large number of Linear regression analysis was conducted with combined
Styrofoam buoys are used for aquaculture in Korea, and the data of Lee et al. (2013a), and this study to see if this
aquaculture of shellfish and seaweeds has undergone rapid relationship holds for many beaches or broader areas. The
expansion over a large area of the Korean coastline. total abundance of large microplastics increased linearly in
Aquaculture farmers have adapted hanging systems for proportion to that of mesoplastics. The determinant coef-
shellfish culture, which deploy large Styrofoam buoys ficients, especially for hard plastic (r2 = 0.960, P \ 0.001)
along long lines submerged in the water to suspend the and Styrofoam (r2 = 0.809, P \ 0.001) were very high
heavy seashells. A pole and floating net system using (Fig. 6). On the contrary, the abundance of large micro-
Styrofoam buoys is widely used in seaweed culture (www. fiber was not correlated with that of meso-fiber. This can be
nfrdi.re.kr). Second, a high proportion of the Styrofoam explained by the fact that the abundances of fibers have not
buoys has been discarded or lost. Styrofoam buoys are been precisely measured in each size group. Fibers larger
cheap ($5 for one 62 litter buoy) in Korea, and farmers than 5 mm in thread shape went through the 5-mm sieve
have little motivation to maintain them well. Third, there holes and might have been included in large micro-fiber
are very few incentives to encourage farmers to retrieve the group. Fiber plastics may have different fragmentation
buoys after use, and the government does not strictly reg- behavior from hard plastic or Styrofoam.
ulate the discarding of these buoys. Furthermore, the buoys The close relationship between large microplastics and
are easily lost when fishing gear knocks against them or in mesoplastics can be used as an indicator when locating ‘‘hot-
bad weather, such as storms. It was estimated that spots’’ of high microplastic contamination. Large
2,522,483 m3 of Styrofoam buoys were in use at the end of microplastics, unlike meso- or macroplastics, are difficult to
2012, and approximately 61,380 m3 (4,382 t) of buoys collect and separate from sand with simple tools or the naked
were lost or discarded during 2012 (Jang et al. 2014). eye. Prior to starting surveys for large microplastics over a
Finally, Styrofoam is easily fragmented into pieces too broad area or along many beaches, it will be very useful to
small to be collected during beach cleaning events, and first locate potential hot spot areas based on the locations of
these fragments are left and accumulate on the beaches. the hot spots for mesoplastics. For the mesoplastic survey, it
In an attempt to address the problem of Styrofoam buoy is only necessary to sieve the sand with a 5-mm sieve and
contamination, the Korean Government recently has set count the abundance of mesoplastic debris items. From our
improvement in the management of Styrofoam buoys as a own experience, only one tenth of the time and effort is
top priority in ‘‘The Second National Marine Debris needed to survey mesoplastics compared to large
Management Plan (2014–2018)’’ (Ministry of Oceans and microplastics. The counting of small microplastics in beach
Fisheries et al. 2014). In this plan, the government raised samples requires time consuming spectroscopic identifica-
the goal for compulsory recycling rate of Styrofoam from tion to produce reliable (Song et al. 2015). It is far easier to
the current level of 28–80 % and expanded incentives for sieve sand with a 5-mm sieve whether it is coarse or wet. The
eco-friendly buoys that generate less waste. In addition, counting of mesoplastics in the sieved particles is also easier.
under the plan, support for local governments to collect This is important, because volunteers, such as local citizens
used Styrofoam buoys will be strengthened. Awareness and and students, can be actively involved in surveys of plastic
outreach programs targeting aquaculture farmers as well as marine debris due to the ease of the procedures, and this
marine environment managers also are essential for the contributes to reductions in the cost and time required to
successful implementation of these measures. Besides the carry out surveys as well as to raise public awareness.
management measures, further researches on microplastics, More information is needed to check if the strong
including Styrofoam, should be conducted to better relationship between large micro- and mesoplastics can be

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Fig. 6 Relationship between large micro- and mesoplastics with combined data of Lee et al. (2013a) and this study (a hard plastic, b Styrofoam;
large micro 1–5 mm; meso 5–25 mm)

used more widely instead of a local/regional pattern. The further studies are needed to elucidate the characteristics of
result of this study was mainly affected by the beaches in spatial distribution of plastic debris on beaches.
which Styrofoam was dominant, as shown in Lee et al.
(2013a). Further studies on the relationship among differ-
ent size groups of plastic debris, especially where debris Conclusions
categories other than Styrofoam are abundant, are needed.
This study did not test if the abundance of small We observed very high levels of plastic marine debris on
microplastics (\1 mm) is correlated with that of meso- Korean beaches. The levels were far higher for large
plastics. Further studies are needed to identify their microplastics, with differences of 1–3 orders of magnitude
relationship. compared with locations in other parts of the world. The
high abundances of plastic marine debris found in this
Plastic Marine Debris Along the Backshore study can be attributed to the presence of high levels of
and High Strandline Styrofoam, with aquaculture as its main source. Styrofoam
particles can be ingested by marine life, resulting in
The total plastic marine debris was more abundant along adverse effects on their health and increased mortality
the backshore than the high strandline, regardless of the rates. Chemicals added to or adsorbed on the Styrofoam
size class, composition, and particle number/weight. also are a concern. To reduce the detrimental effects of
Numerous studies on microplastic debris have been per- Styrofoam, a reduction in Styrofoam marine debris levels
formed along the high strandline on beaches (Hidalgo-Ruz on Korean beaches is urgently required. The Korean gov-
et al. 2012). However, it is unclear why these studies chose ernment is attempting to implement measures to reduce
to focus on the high strandline. Bravo et al. (2009) reported Styrofoam marine debris, which include the voluntary
that more marine debris accumulated along the backshore retrieval of used Styrofoam buoys, increasing the com-
in Chile. Heo et al. (2013) reported that small plastic debris pulsory recycling rates of the Extended Producers
accumulated to a greater extent in the upper littoral zone Responsibility system, and expanding support for beach
than along the high strandline. The statistical tests used in cleanups. To ensure the success of these measures, it is
this study showed no significant differences between the essential to raise awareness among people involved in the
backshore and the high strandline. This may have been aquaculture industry as well as government officials con-
because the number of quadrats was small, some beaches nected with the sector. In addition, more studies on plastic
showed higher densities of plastic debris along the high marine debris and its environmental effects should be
strandline, and other beaches had high degrees of variance conducted. We found that the abundance of large
in the amounts of debris. The sampling location on a beach microplastics was strongly correlated with that of meso-
should be selected carefully for plastic debris surveys, and plastics. This result can facilitate the location of ‘‘hot-

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Acknowledgments This study was supported by grants-in-aid from 2014.05.051
Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (PE 99192). This Ivar do Sul JA, Spengler A, Costa MF (2009) Here, there and
study was partially supported by research projects titled ‘‘Environ- everywhere. Small plastic fragments and pellets on beaches of
mental Risk Assessment of Microplastics in the Marine Environ- Fernando de Noronha (Equatorial Western Atlantic). Mar Pollut
ment’’ from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea. Bull 58:1236
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Compliance with Ethical Standards stock of marine debris in South Korea for management purposes.
Mar Pollut Bull 86:505–511. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.
We certify that we have complied with the ethical principles 021
regarding with disclosure of potential conflicts of interest, research Lazar B, Gračvcan B, Katić J et al (2011) Loggerhead sea turtles
involving Human Participants and/or Animals, and Informed consent (Caretta caretta) as bioturbators in neritic habitats: an insight
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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict Lee J, Hong S, Song YK et al (2013a) Relationships among the
of interest. abundances of plastic debris in different size classes on beaches
in South Korea. Mar Pollut Bull 77:349–354
Lee K-W, Shim WJ, Kwon OY, Kang J-H (2013b) Size-dependent
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