Britta Denise Hardesty

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation | CSIRO · Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research

Pinnipeds represent one of the most vulnerable marine groups severely affected by entanglements. However, the lack of standardized data collection poses a challenge when comparing the impacts of fishing gear across various geographic regions. In this study, we employed Generalized Additive Models to predict entanglement incidents stemming from fish...

The red-billed tropicbird, Phaethon aethereus , is a species of seabird native to the Galápagos archipelago, and widely distributed across the neotropics. General health, blood chemistry, and haematology parameters have not been published for this species. Blood analyses were performed on samples drawn from 51 clinically healthy red-billed tropicbi...

The exponential increase in plastic production coupled with variable global waste management system efficiencies has resulted in large amounts of plastic waste entering the ocean every year. Although we know millions of tonnes of plastic have entered the oceans, we do not yet understand the patterns of its accumulation across space nor the drivers...

Plastic pollution of aquatic ecosystems is a growing environmental problem. Most plastic pollution originates from land-based sources and is transported via rivers, where plastic densities can exceed those at sea. Rivers in southeast Asia are regularly identified among those transporting the greatest plastic loads globally, yet are among the least...

Plastic debris is a significant problem aesthetically, environmentally, and across food chains. Hence it is important to increase understanding of the mechanisms of how this debris is distributed and potentially managed, especially in areas such as Africa with relatively large populations and poor infrastructure. Debris can be derived from local so...

Context The growing demand for global food security has resulted in rising fishing intensity, sometimes leading to overexploitation of fish resources, including tuna. Increasingly, fishers are using anchored fish aggregating devices (aFADs) to improve efficiencies and reduce costs. Aims To identify locations and use patterns of FADs and characteris...

Aim Biodiversity hotspots in wide‐ranging marine species typically overlap with regions of high productivity, which are often associated with nutrient‐rich waters. Here we investigate how element concentrations in feathers vary among highly mobile seabirds in global seabird biodiversity hotspots. Location Southern Hemisphere. Time period Contempo...

The accumulation of Mismanaged Plastic Waste (MPW) in the environment is a global concern. The amount of waste generated by countries is estimated using globally available data layers and/or empirical surveys. Unlike globally available metadata, MPW estimates based on empirical surveys allow for better visualization of amounts, potential pathways,...

Diverse and inclusive marine research is paramount to addressing ocean sustainability challenges in the 21st century, as envisioned by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Despite increasing efforts to diversify ocean science, women continue to face barriers at various stages of their career, which inhibits their progression...

Recycling by the informal sector provides a rapid, inexpensive solution to plastic pollution, whilst supporting the livelihoods via their inclusion and empowerment. This solution will have the greatest benefit to the environment if supporting interventions are targeted at types of plastic pollution that are the most damaging from an ecological and...

Plastic volume in the ocean is increasing rapidly, affecting wildlife, economies, and potentially human health. Recent model projections suggest that somewhere between four and twelve million tons of plastic flow into the world’s oceans yearly, with much of this waste coming from urban centres (Jambeck et al. 2015). However, to date, very little da...

There is an increased focus on plastic pollution and the resultant harms in our oceans and on our shores at local, regional, and global scales. New technologies are being developed and trialed, multilateral agreements are coming into play, and the role of a circular economy is increasingly touted as the key to help solve the plastic pollution crisi...

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a major contributor to ocean pollution, with extensive social, economic, and environmental impacts. However, quantitative ALDFG estimates are dated and limited in scope. To provide current global estimates, we interviewed fishers around the world about how much fishing gear they lose a...

This study investigates the risk plastic debris ingestion poses to coastal marine taxa in the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean Sea. Here, we use species observations and environmental data to model habitat maps for 42 species of fish. For each species, we then match estimates of habitat suitability against the spatial distribution of p...

Plastic litter is a pollutant of aquatic environments worldwide, with some of the world's highest litter densities occurring in freshwater ecosystems. Little information about the risk that plastic litter poses to aquatic wildlife is available across the world's most polluted waterways. To help assess the risk to aquatic species where empirical dat...

Interdisciplinary research is paramount to addressing ocean sustainability challenges in the 21st century. However, women leaders have been underrepresented in interdisciplinary marine research, and there is little guidance on how to achieve the conditions that will lead to an increased proportion of women scientists in positions of leadership. Her...

Regardless of where plastic pollution originates, the management interventions made at the local level are crucial to the global success of reducing plastic pollution. Reduced plastic consumption and pollution have been observed in communities with plastic taxes and educational programs. However, there is currently a lack of a quantitative framewor...

Plastic pollution is a critical environmental concern. There is a growing focus on this transboundary issue, and a corresponding increase in public and government awareness. Understanding the key factors associated with litter and mismanaged waste on land will help to predict where and how waste enters the environment, providing opportunities for l...

In the age of the Anthropocene, the ocean has typically been viewed as a sink for pollution. Pollution is varied, ranging from human-made plastics and pharmaceutical compounds, to human-altered abiotic factors, such as sediment and nutrient runoff. As global population, wealth and resource consumption continue to grow, so too does the amount of pot...

Quantifying accurately human impacts on marine ecosystems is key to healthy oceans. While fish production from wild stocks has plateaued since the 1980 s, those estimates are primarily drawn from large-scale commercial fisheries, whose boats are routinely monitored using a suite of sophisticated equipment to ensure compliance. Smaller vessels, howe...

The remote Gulf of Carpentaria (GoC) represents 10% of Australia's coastline. This large, shallow sea supports high-value fishing activities and habitat for threatened species, and is a sink for abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) ‘ghost nets’, most originating from fishing activities outside of Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone. W...

Anthropogenic debris (AD) including plastics, foams and fishing debris, are an undesirable accompaniment to beaches worldwide, arriving through direct deposition (littering) and oceanic transport. We investigated the standing stocks of 12 types of AD on inhabited islands, uninhabited islands and mainland locations, and the potential factors relatin...

Plastic pollution, and its associated impacts on marine fauna due to chemical contamination, is an area of growing global concern. We analyzed 145 preen gland oil samples from 32 seabird species belonging to 8 families with different foraging habits and life history strategies from around the world for plastic additives and legacy persistent organi...

Monitoring the use of anchored fish aggregating devices (AFADs) is essential for effective fisheries management. However, detecting the use of these devices is a significant challenge for fisheries management in Indonesia. These devices are continually deployed at large scales, due to large numbers of users and high failure rates, increasing the di...

Pollution of coastal environments by anthropogenic debris is a global problem that is increasingly in the public eye. We evaluated the influence of socioeconomic and geographic factors on common debris items at a global scale. We compared debris density and socioeconomic drivers of the ten most common items reported on land and the seafloor, analyz...

The use of plastic products has become an indispensable part of our lives. However, due to improper discharge into the ocean and their prevalence in food storage use, humans ingest microplastics (MP) from consuming seafood or drinking water, which poses safety hazards. Furthermore, the existing MP separation methods, such as density separation and...

Protein from fish is essential for feeding the world’s population and is increasingly recognized as critical for food security. To ensure that fisheries resources can be sustainably maintained, fisheries management must be appropriately implemented. When logbook and landing records data are not complete or are incorrect, it is challenging to have a...

Riverbanks are an important source of plastic pollution. However, the current assessment methods for riverbank litter are based on a point-based sampling which is time consuming and limited in scope. To quickly assess hotspot areas and litter compositions in larger areas, this study developed a new citizen science bicycle survey for riverine debris...

Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) represents a major sea-based source of marine debris globally, with far-reaching socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Estimates of the amount of ALDFG entering the ocean have implications for managers and policy makers as they work to tailor solutions at scale. While scientists have wo...

Abandoned, Lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) comprises a significant part of global marine plastic pollution, with adverse consequences for fishers, the seafood industry, and marine wildlife and habitats. To effectively prevent and reduce ALDFG at source, an understanding of the major causes of and drivers behind fishing gear losses...

Environmental harm from plastic pollution partly results from compliance failure at the individual level. Three prevalent non-compliant motivations for polluting plastics include economic gains, ignorance of the rules and unlikely penalization from inadequately enforced rules. Given compliance is primarily the responsibility of local waste manageme...

Abstract There have been a variety of attempts to model and quantify the amount of land-based waste entering the world’s oceans, most of which rely heavily on global estimates of population density as the key driving factor. Using empirical data collected in seven different countries/territories (China, Kenya, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka,...

Globally, seabird populations have been in decline due to multiple threats throughout their range. Separating simultaneous pressures is challenging and can require significant amounts of data over long periods of time. We use spatial contrasts to investigate the relative importance of several drivers for the purported decline in a species listed as...

Our societies will change following the COVID-19 crisis, as well as ocean management. Here we present 10 action points in a marine context, to re-energize our economies and avert the biodiversity and climate change crises of which the present COVID-19 crisis represents a portend: (1) promote carbon neutral economies to mitigate global warming; (2)...

Illegal fishing is a widespread, global phenomenon that is affecting already heavily depleted wild fish stocks, threatening marine habitats and contributing to marine pollution through discarded fishing gear. Many different measures have been implemented by nation states to deter and prevent illegal fishing. These include coastal surveillance and p...

Albatrosses are among the world's most imperiled vertebrates, with 73% of species threatened with extinction. Ingestion of plastic is a well‐recognized threat among three North Pacific species, but lesser known in the southern hemisphere, where it is considered a minor threat. As plastic entering the ocean is increasing while albatross populations...

In their recent paper, Lavers et al. 2019 measured blood chemistry parameters in fledgling seabirds, finding a link between ingested plastic and growth, calcium, uric acid, and cholesterol. The manuscript suggests varied toxicological interpretations and concluded that superficially healthy animals may still experience negative health consequences...

Pollution by plastic and other debris is a problem affecting the world's oceans and is increasing through time. The problem is so large that prioritizing solutions to effect meaningful change may seem overwhelming to the public and policy makers. Marine megafauna are known to mistakenly eat anthropogenic debris and die from consequent gastrointesti...

Marine debris is a growing threat to hundreds of marine animal species. To understand the consequences of marine debris to wildlife populations, studies must go beyond reporting the incidence of wildlife and debris interactions and aim to quantify the harm resulting from these interactions. Tubenosed seabirds are globally threatened, with near univ...

Naturally occurring metals and metalloids [metal(loid)s] are essential for the physiological functioning of wildlife; however, environmental contamination by metal(loid) and plastic pollutants is a health hazard. Metal(loid)s may interact with plastic in the environment and there is mixed evidence about whether plastic ingested by wildlife affects...

Illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing is a major contributor to global overfishing, threatening food security, maritime livelihoods, and fisheries sustainability. An emerging narrative in the literature posits that IUU fishing is associated with additional organized criminal activities, such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, slav...

Interest in understanding the extent of plastic and specifically microplastic pollution has increased on a global scale. However, we still know relatively little about how much plastic pollution has found its way into the deeper areas of the world’s oceans. The extent of microplastic pollution in deep-sea sediments remains poorly quantified, but th...

The swallow-tailed gull, Creagrus furcatus, is a seabird endemic to the Galápagos archipelago. In general health, blood chemistry and haematology, parameters have not been published for this species. Blood analyses were run on samples drawn from 58 clinically healthy swallow-tailed gulls captured at Islote Pitt on San Cristóbal Island in July 2016...

Marine debris represents a major threat for the environment. Plastic production is increasing exponentially and causing an unprecedented growth of plastic pollution entering the marine environment. Hence, a thorough assessment of debris accumulation areas is required to address the longstanding question about where is all the missing plastic. Most...

A group of ocean experts brainstormed about the most pressing actions to be taken in favour of ocean conservation in the context of SARS-CoV2

Pollution of coastal and marine environments by mismanaged anthropogenic debris is a global threat requiring complex, multilateral solutions and mitigation strategies. International efforts to catalogue and quantify the density, extent and nature of mismanaged waste have not yet assessed the heterogeneity of debris between nearby areas. Better unde...

Marine plastic debris floating on the ocean surface is a major environmental problem. However, its distribution in the ocean is poorly mapped, and most of the plastic waste estimated to have entered the ocean from land is unaccounted for. Better understanding of how plastic debris is transported from coastal and marine sources is crucial to quantif...

The Galápagos shearwater, Puffinus subalaris, is a seabird endemic to the Galápagos archipelago. Hematology, blood chemistry, and general health parameters have not been published for this species. Analyses were run on blood samples drawn from 20 clinically healthy Galápagos shearwaters captured by hand at their nests at Islote Pitt on San Cristóba...

Since the start of commercial plastics production in the 1940s, global production has rapidly accelerated, doubling approximately every 11 years. Despite this increase and clear evidence of plastics loss into the oceans, including a substantial standing stock, previous research has not detected a temporal trend in plastic particle concentration in...

The Galápagos Archipelago and Galápagos Marine Reserve lie 1000 km off the coast of Ecuador and are among the world's most iconic wildlife refuges. However, plastic litter is now found even in this remote island archipelago. Prior to this study, the sources of this plastic litter on Galápagos coastlines were unidentified. Local sources are widely e...

Bottled water is one sector of the beverage industry that has recently experienced substantial growth. The littering of plastic water bottles and the carbon emissions produced from bottled water production results in harmful effects on the environment. To reduce the harm of bottled water production and litter, government and non-government organisa...

Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) represents a significant, yet ultimately unknown amount of global marine debris, with serious environmental and socioeconomic impacts. This study reviews 68 publications from 1975 to 2017 that contain quantitative information about fishing gear losses. Gear loss estimates reported by the s...

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Plastics and other artificial materials pose new risks to health of the ocean. Anthropogenic debris travels across large distances and is ubiquitous in the water and on the shorelines, yet, observations of its sources, composition, pathways and distributions in the ocean are very sparse and inaccurate. Total amounts of plastics and other man-made...

Maximenko et al. Integrated Marine Debris Observing System Plastics and other artificial materials pose new risks to the health of the ocean. Anthropogenic debris travels across large distances and is ubiquitous in the water and on shorelines, yet, observations of its sources, composition, pathways, and distributions in the ocean are very sparse an...

The Galápagos Archipelago and Marine Reserve lies 1000 km off the coast of Ecuador and is among the world's most iconic wildlife refuges. However, plastic litter is now found even in this remote and iconic island archipelago. Prior to this study, the sources of this plastic litter on Galápagos coastlines were unidentified. Local sources are widely...

A suite of field manuals was released by the NESP Marine Hub in early 2018 to facilitate a national monitoring framework, with a focus on seven marine sampling platforms: multibeam sonar, autonomous underwater vehicles, baited remote underwater video (pelagic and demersal), towed imagery, sleds and trawls, and grabs and box corers. These platforms...