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Plastic pellets on the beaches of the northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea
Ahmad H. Abu-Hilal
a
; Tariq H. Al-Najjar
b
a
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
b
Marine
Science Station, Aqaba, Jordan
Online publication date: 04 December 2009
To cite this Article Abu-Hilal, Ahmad H. and Al-Najjar, Tariq H.(2009) 'Plastic pellets on the beaches of the northern Gulf
of Aqaba, Red Sea', Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, 12: 4, 461 — 470
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/14634980903361200
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14634980903361200
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Plastic pellets on the beaches of the northern Gulf
of Aqaba, Red Sea
Ahmad H. Abu-Hilal
1∗
and Tariq H. Al-Najjar
2
1
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid-Jordan
2
Marine Science Station, P.O. Box 195, Aqaba, Jordan
∗
Corresponding author: abuhilal.ahmad@yahoo.com
The occurrence of plastic pellets on the Jordanian beaches along the northeastern side of the Gulf
of Aqaba (Red Sea) is being reported for the first time. Five beaches of about 4,650 m in length and
134,000 m
2
in area were surveyed for the presence of these spherules during two successive years. Pellets
with a variety of colors, shapes and sizes were found. The presence of these pellets is most likely due to
accidental spillages: cargo loss during sea transport and sweeping of raw plastic materials, such as those
imported as feedstock for local plastic factories in Jordan, into shore by wave action. When compared
with other beaches of other parts of the world, the Jordanian beaches on the Gulf of Aqaba are considered
heavily polluted with these pellets. This report discusses type, degree of degradation, sources and possible
effects on the marine environment and suggests actions to reduce the input of plastic pellets to the marine
environment at the source.
Keywords: occurrence, transportation, accumulation, distribution, degradation, sources, controlling
factor
Introduction
Accumulation and concentration of plastic pel-
lets and other plastic litter on beaches and marine
waters have been reported from many parts of the
world. However, as well as aesthetically distaste-
ful plastic litter, less conspicuous but significantly
large quantities of small plastic pellets and granules
have been observed on beaches of many parts of
the world as early as 1972 (e.g. Carpenter, 1972;
Carpenter and Smith, 1972; Gregory, 1978; Shiber,
1979; McDermid and McMullen, 2004).
Transportation and accumulation of plastic pel-
lets and other types of plastics are controlled by
many natural, physical and anthropogenic or man-
made factors such as prevailing winds, surface resid-
ual currents, and beach type and topography (Dixon
and Dixon, 1981). Other important factors are
incoming tides, beach location, physiography, ori-
entation and beach exposure, type of beach usage,
beach distance from pollution source and level of
human activity (Gregory, 1977; Dixon and Dixon,
1981; Shiber, 1987; Garrity and Levings, 1993).
The apparent threats of plastic pellets on ma-
rine life are primarily due to ingestion by marine
birds and fishes (Carpenter et al., 1972; Azzarello
and Van-Vleet, 1987; Rayan et al., 1988; Zitko and
Hanlon, 1991; Moser and Lee, 1992). However, ad-
verse effects of pellets on marine biota may not al-
ways be apparent as pellets may adsorb, accumulate
and transfer toxic chemicals to other marine organ-
isms (Mato et al., 2001; Derraik, 2002; Endo et al.,
2005; Rios et al., 2007).
Published literature up until 2004 does not in-
clude any reports about this type of pollution or
its impact on the whole of the Red Sea including
461
Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, 12(4):461–470, 2009. Copyright
C
2009 AEHMS. ISSN: 1463-4988 print / 1539-4077 online
DOI: 10.1080/14634980903361200
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462 Abu-Hilal and Al-Najjar / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 12 (2009) 461–470
Figure 1. Sampling sites along the Jordan coasts of the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea), (The numbers between brackets refer to the number
of sampling points in each site).
the Gulf of Aqaba area. It was almost impossible
to observe even a single pellet on the nor theast-
ern side of the Gulf of Aqaba during the period
1974–1986. However, by the early 1990s it was easy
to observe large quantities of plastic pellets on the
same beaches of this portion of the Gulf. Knowing
the possible ecological and environmental impacts
of plastic pellets, and the obvious aesthetic impact
on the tourist, leisure and recreational beaches of
Jordan, it was decided to initiate a monitoring pro-
gram on selected beaches of the Jordanian Gulf of
Aqaba with the aim of determining the type, dis-
tribution, quantities and origin of these new pol-
lutants. This report documents the results of the
program and suggests actions to reduce the inputs
of plastic pellets to the marine environment at the
source.
Study Area
The Gulf of Aqaba beaches along the Jordanian
coastline (Figure 1) are characterized by border-
ing confined and heavily trafficked waters, high fre-
quency of onshore wind, variation in beach forms
and uses. In the whole study area either N or NNE
winds blow throughout most of the year. This means
the prevailing winds run parallel to the coasts of the
Jordan Gulf of Aqaba. Similarly, the wind-induced
surface currents run southward from NNE to SSE
in a clockwise circulation along the coasts of Jordan
(Hulings, 1979).
For the purpose of this study five zones of
beaches were selected along the shoreline of the
Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba (Figure 1). The North
beach (Zone 5) which has a nor th-south orienta-
tion is a stable, low energy sandy beach of ap-
proximately 20–50 m wide. The Central Power
Station beach within this zone is a stable beach,
composed of a northern shingle stretch and south-
ern sandy deposits. The Marine Nature Reserve of
the Marine Science Station (MSS) beach (Zone 4)
is sandy in its northern side and covered with a
mixture of sand, pebbles, shingles and rocky slabs
of eroded coral reef, conglomerates and beach rock
in the middle. The northern and middle parts of
the National Camp beach (Zone 3) are of gen-
tle slope sandy beaches, whereas the southern part
of the of the zone is covered with shingle, pebble
and sand deposits. Al-Mamlah beach (Zone 2) is a
large embayment, the deposits of which are mainly
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Abu-Hilal and Al-Najjar / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 12 (2009) 461–470 463
shingle mixed with sand in the lower intertidal
zone and sand in the upper intertidal zone. The
Industrial Complex beach (Zone 1) is a bay-like
beach. The sandy part of the beach which has
a gentle slope and a NE-SW orientation was se-
lected for collection of samples. The total length
of the 5 zones is 4650 m with a total area of
133895 m
2
.
Materials and Methods
At each beach (zone), sampling transects were
marked, running from the low water edge at the
time of sampling (collection) to the highest high
tide mark. A total of 35 sampling transects were se-
lected along the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba shoreline
which extends for about 27 km (Figure 1). At Zone
1, representative samples of plastic pellets were col-
lected from 5 transects. The total area of this zone
is 10201 m
2
. Nine sampling transects were selected
at Al-Mamlah beach (Zone 2) which has a total area
of 36740 m
2
. At the National Camp beach (Zone
3) which has a total area of 56280 m
2
, pellets were
collected from three transects. Fourteen sampling
transects were visited at the Marine Nature Reserve
of the Marine Science Station (Zone 4) which has a
total area of 14171 m
2
. At the Northern Zone (Zone
5), which has a total area of 16503 m
2
, one tran-
sect was in front of the Central Power Station and
three transects were at the most northern extrem-
ity of the Gulf just to the north of the main Aqaba
Cargo Port. Transects were surveyed for the first
time during the period March 1994 to August 1994.
The same transects were visited once again dur-
ing 1995. Each transect was transversally divided
into three equal segments (sampling points) A, B
and C. From each sampling point an area of only
1m
2
was randomly selected to collect a represen-
tative sample. Metal frames of 1 m
2
in area were
used as collecting fields. All plastic pellets were
picked up by hand and placed in a clean plastic bag.
Whenever particles were abundant 0.25 × 0.25 m
was marked and used as the collecting fields. A to-
tal number of 105 samples were collected during
each year. The collected samples were then trans-
ferred to the laboratory where they were examined
and counted. The ANOVA test was used to exam-
ine the differences between the quantities of plas-
tic pellets that have been found on the monitored
beaches along the Jordanian coasts of the Gulf of
Aqaba.
Results
Type of plastic pellets
Several kinds of virgin plastic pellets recognized
on Jordan beaches are ovoid and spheruloids up
to more than 2 mm in diameter and occasionally
larger. Other shapes such as disc and cylindrical rods
of varying sizes were also found. Clear to translu-
cent, colorless pellets, with included air bubbles are
the more common. However, opaque and whitish
types were also present. Colored discs, spherules,
and rods mostly white, but also black, blue, yel-
low, red, brown, pink, purple, and green were
also found (Figure 2 available at www.aehms.org/
Journal/12
4 Abu-Hilal Figure 2.html).
The examination of the collected plastic pellets
revealed that most were hard with white-yellowish
and/or brownish coloration. The predominant
shapes were spherical to oval pellets 2–3 mm in
diameter. The pellets were found to float on the
surface of seawater indicating a high polyethylene
nature with a density of less than1.0 g cm
−3.
Abundance, distribution, and sources
Table 1 shows the abundance per square meter
(m
2
) and distribution of the pellets along the coast-
line during 1994 and 1995. The results of the count-
ing indicate that the abundance and distribution was
uneven and highly variable from zone to zone, site
to site, transect to transect and point to point. Zone 4
shows the highest counts and abundance and Zone 2
was the second highest whereas Zone 5 shows the
lowest abundance and counts.
The analysis of variance shows that there was
significant difference between the five zones of the
study area during year 1994 (P = 0.0152) and dur-
ing 1995 (P = 0.0001). In comparison, there was
no significant difference between the (A) sampling
points in each of the five sampling zones during
the two years (P = 0.7888) and (P = 0.1036) re-
spectively. Similarly, there was no significant differ-
ence between the (B) sampling points (P = 0.1930)
and (P = 0.0570) respectively, as well as the (C)
sampling points (P = 0.1029) and P = 0.0767) re-
spectively, in each of the five zones during the same
periods. The results reveal also that there was no sig-
nificant difference between the A, B and C s ampling
points in the five zones during 1994 (P = 0.0920 and
1995 (P = 0.1989).
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Table 1. Count and distribution of plastic pellets on the beaches of the jordanian gulf of aqaba (red sea) during 1994 and 1995.
1994 1995
Zone Year A B C Total A B C Total
27168 45208 36264 108640 28377 60691 86523 175592
Industrial Area beach (Zone 1) X 5433 9042 7253 7243 5675 12138 17305 11706
δ 4634 7157 3739 5205 7257 5364 13765 10082
80312 110808 135976 327097 104887 185900 351470 642257
Al-Mamlah beach (Zone 2) X 8924 12312 15108 12115 11654 20656 39052 23787
δ 9751 13256 16527 13191 22415 42574 57847 43324
2696 34120 64136 100952 6060 2768 4768 13596
National Camp beach (Zone 3) X 899 11373 21379 11217 2020 923 1589 1510
δ 1176 9010 24535 15805 1826 684 414 1106
215216 2047172 1242840 3405229 780910 1348549 1640224 3769685
Marine Nature Reserve at MSS
beach (Zone 4)
X 15373 146227 81631 81077 55779 96325 117159 89754
δ 31926 235234 105122 155871 72573 81872 135149 101253
26688 15904 13768 56280 5088 5008 3256 13352
North beach (Zone 5) X 6652 3976 3442 4690 1272 1252 814 1113
δ 8247 2169 3299 4995 1177 1067 774 948
352000 2253212 1392984 3998201 925322 1602916 2086241 4614477
Total X 10057 64378 39799 38078 26438 45798 59607 43947
δ 21085 160666 74503 104389 52358 69204 101173 77429
= total counts X = mean δ = standard deviation A, B, C = Sampling points.
464
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Abu-Hilal and Al-Najjar / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 12 (2009) 461–470 465
It was recognized that most of the pellets are
washed up and accumulate on the beaches, ei-
ther concentrating along the tide line, spreading
across or accumulating in many pockets, ditches
and trenches in the back beach. They are often
mixed with sand particles and small pieces of light
wood, charcoal, hay and straw (Figure 3 available
at www.aehms.org/Journal/12
4 Abu-Hilal Figure
3.html). Colored, fresh and deg raded plastic pel-
lets were found on all sandy beaches. Compara-
tively high pellet numbers were found on the sandy
beaches of the Marine Nature Reserve of the Ma-
rine Science Station where local concentrations of-
ten exceeded 1200 and ranged between 1232 and
878,400 pellets per square meter in 1994 and 1016
and 436,921 pellets per square meter in 1995.
Pellets are highly accumulated in pockets, small
ditches and trenches in the backshore of the southern
sandy beach of the Marine Science Station (Figure
4 available at www.aehms.org/Journal/12
4 Abu-
Hilal
Figure 4.html). Elsewhere, around the other
selected zones, numbers are generally lower. By
comparison, pellets were never seen on boulder,
pebble, and shingle beaches of all zones. Similarly
no pellets were found on the1836 m
2
rocky beach of
the Marine Nature Reserve of the Marine Science
Station. The number of pellets seems to decrease
with increasing distance from the port, increasing
human activities on sandy beaches, and with in-
creasing width of the back beach.
Degradation, weathering and potential
environmental effects
Most of the pellets found on the Jordanian
beaches are fresh (Figure 5a) or with very little
abrasion (Figure 5b), but some appear to be old
and show degradation suggesting that plastic pellets
on these beaches are not a recent problem. Many
pellets are yellow or light brown while others are
brittle, crazed with fine cracks, irregularly shaped
chunks and fissures (Figs. 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f). Substan-
tial numbers of pellets have broken edges (Figs. 5g,
5h). All these features are well-known weather-
ing degradation phenomena of plastic (Chottiner
and Bowden, 1965; Ives et al., 1971). The various
tints of yellow to brown coloration of a relatively
high percentage of the pellets indicate some de-
gree of photo degradation, or tainting from organic
matter or oil that repeatedly landed on the beach
accidentally.
Discussion
The prevailing winds, currents, waves and in-
coming tides make all the west-facing beaches of
the whole study area a permanent recipient of the
floating plastic pellets and other objects. However,
results show that the counts, abundance and distribu-
tion of pellets on these beaches are highly variable.
The variability in distribution and abundance of the
pellets among the various zones, and the significant
differences between the mean counts of the pellets
in these zones is attributable to more than one factor.
Pellet numbers on the sandy beaches of the Marine
Nature Reserve of the Marine Science Station beach
(Zone 4) appear abnormally high compared to those
on other zones. This can be attributed to the fact that
the beaches are part of the Marine Nature Reserve
which is considered a protected area, devoted to sci-
entific research activities and of controlled access.
The beaches remain undisturbed and thus subject
to minimal human activities. The beaches have a
north-south orientation (facing the west) and face
the prevailing winds, currents, waves and incoming
tides which run along beaches or on beaches. Fur-
thermore, the beaches which are fronted by wide
and well developed reef flats, have a gentle slope
and a flat back beach which obviously act as ef-
fective traps for pellets that accumulate over time
particularly in small pockets, ditches and trenches.
The absence of the pellets from the boulder, shingle
and pebble parts of the narrow Central Power Sta-
tion beach (Zone 5), Marine Nature Reserve of the
Marine Science Station (Zone 4) and Al-Mamlah
beach (Zone 2) can be attributed to the possibil-
ity that pellets are lost to view in the sieving ef-
fect of water filtering down through these parts of
the beach (Gregory, 1978). The physiography of the
Central Power Station beach (Zone 5) seems to influ-
ence the retention of pellets. The narrow width and
narrow zone of wave energy dissipation and conse-
quent high frequency of overlapping between high
water marks operate against the deposition and ac-
cumulation of pellets. This is aided by tidal streams
which remove pellets seaward following slack wa-
ter (Dixon and Cooke, 1977). In vast contrast, the
wide back beach and the shallow gradient of the
National Camp sandy beach (Zone 3) resulted in a
wide reaching zone of 50–60 m between high and
low water marks during the year. The shallow gradi-
ent results in pellets remaining settled on the beach,
but particularly on the back beach for longer periods
without being disturbed by wave action. However,
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466 Abu-Hilal and Al-Najjar / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 12 (2009) 461–470
Figure 5. Scanning electron micrographs illustrating various degrees of progressive degradation of p lastic pellets found on Aqaba
beaches along the Jordanian coastline: a-Fresh ovoidal disc-like pellets with no evidence of surficial degradation; b-Surface enlarge-
ment of fresh rod-shaped pellet; c-Enlarged pellet with increased flaking and evidence of some abrasion and incipient (early stage)
degradation; d and e-Intense crazing and advanced degradation in pellets of chalky appearance; f-Enlargement of a half of a pellet
with part of the gas bubble trap; and g and h-Highly degraded pellets with broken edges.
this recreational beach within the tourism zone is
highly accessible by the public which means that
the level of human activity is high and therefore, the
natural accumulation and distribution of the plastic
pellets is highly disturbed, widely disseminated, lost
to view, and mixed with or buried in sand. As a con-
sequence, counts of the pellets in this zone may be
underestimated.
Since the use of plastic continues to increase,
so do the amounts of plastic pellets polluting the
marine environment. Because of their high buoy-
ancy, an increasing load of pellets is being dispersed
over long distance and wide areas (Hansen, 1990;
Goldberg, 1997). Plastic pellets adrift on the sea
for any length of time commonly attract encrusting
marine organisms such as bryozoan species, bac-
teria, diatoms, algae, or hydroids (Carpenter et al.,
1972; Carpenter and Smith, 1972; Gregory, 1991;
Minchin, 1996). These findings have encouraged us
to investigate the presence of this phenomenon. We
report here that encrusting biota was not seen on
any of the pellets collected or observed on the sur-
veyed beaches. This suggests that they did not stay
for a long period in contact with sea water and were
transported to the beaches so quickly by the incom-
ing tides, and by the action of the prevailing wind,
wind-induced surface currents and waves, where
they herded and settled. In contrast, many spherules
partly covered with tar or oily residues were found
in most of the sampling points on the sandy beaches.
Historically, small scale oil spills occur from time
to time in the study area. Most of the spilled oil
finds its way to the beaches very quickly because
of the very short distance between the source points
of spills and beaches of the most northern narrow
portion of the Gulf of Aqaba between Aqaba in Jor-
dan and Eilat in Israel (4–8 Km wide). The pres-
ence of these oiled pellets may be hazardous to
birds and other marine life. However, the potential
environmental impact is not restricted to the oiled
or encrusted pellets. Three decades ago Carpenter
(1972) and Carpenter and Smith (1972) reported the
presence of bacteria and polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) on the surface of plastic particles. In a more
recent study, Mato et al. (2001) reported that they
have detected enriched amounts of PCBs, DDE and
nonylphenols (NP) on the surface of pellets and in-
dicated that the source of these pollutants is the
ambient seawater, and that adsorption to the pellet’s
surface is the mechanism of enrichment. They high-
lighted the ability of these pollutants to accumulate
in high concentrations on the surface of the pellets,
which may serve as both a transport medium and
potential source of toxic chemicals in the marine
environment. These plastic pellets could be a route
for these toxic chemicals into marine food chains
(Carpenter and Smith, 1972; Carpenter et al., 1972;
Zitko and Hanlon, 1991; Mato et al., 2001). There
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Table 2. Jordan imports (tons) of plastic (polymers in primary forms) during the period 1994–2002.
Form 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Total
Ethylene 41783 33225 41264 36800 45364 37918 39452 48701 51930 376437
Propylene/olefins 16758 13035 22745 19186 20062 19304 19196 30319 22608 183213
Vinylchloride or halogenated olefins 17855 10041 13937 13722 19066 15611 16695 23091 18220 148238
Styrene 10500 5744 9623 9902 11456 10131 10217 12820 12823 93216
Polyethylene, Polyacetate 5535 4206 5392 5108 566 6437 6564 7125 9344 50277
Acrylic Polymers 1277 1318 1436 1534 2959 3221 3416 3973 4011 23145
Polyurethanes & phenolic resins 1448 816 1013 1012 1223 849 733 1156 803 9053
Venyl acetate/Venyl Ester 1126 449 1110 455 483 320 1264 1112 885 7204
Polyamides 238 168 153 92 92 68 247 313 253 1624
Total 96520 69002 96673 87811 107365 93758 97784 128682 120877 898472
467
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468 Abu-Hilal and Al-Najjar / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 12 (2009) 461–470
has been a wide agreement among researchers that
the threats of plastic pellets to the marine life are pri-
marily due to ingestion (Laist, 1987; Quayle, 1992).
Seabirds and fish species particularly planktivores,
are more likely to confuse plastic pellets with their
prey (Azzarello and Van-Vleet, 1987; Moser and
Lee, 1992; Derraik, 2002). The ingestion of plas-
tic pellets can lead to increased risk of disease, al-
teration of hormone levels, reproductive disorders
(Rayan et al., 1988; Lee et al., 2001), reduction
of food uptake, internal injury and death following
blockage of intestinal tract (Carpenter et al., 1972;
Rayan, 1988; Zitko and Hanlon, 1991). On more
than one occasion, seabirds were found dead in the
present study area particularly at beaches of the Ma-
rine Nature Reserve of the Marine Science Station
where oiled and other plastic pellets are very abun-
dant. Unfortunately, the cause of their death was not
fully investigated although some pellets were found
in their stomachs. Lack of experience resulted in
these events being undocumented.
The spatial variations in pellet type are of mi-
nor significance and inadequate to permit identifi-
cation of more than one source. The principal source
seems to lie in the main Aqaba Cargo Port. No in-
formation is available about other potential sources
along the coasts of the other riparian countries, par-
ticularly Eilat town in Israel located on the west-
ern side of the Gulf. Likely causes are accidental
spillages during handling on wharves or from the
top of vehicles during loading and transport of pel-
lets in and from Aqaba port area or inland stor-
age area within the port. Splits in sacks stacked
on pallets, which have been accidentally punctured
by fork hoists during handling is another potential
cause. In addition, some spillage may occur at sea.
Most of the virgin plastic pellets are imported via
Aqaba port as raw material that has yet to enter the
fabrication stage. The available official information
indicates that the main forms imported are ethy-
lene, polypropylene, olefins, vinyl chloride or halo-
genated olefins and styrene. The amounts imported
have increased steadily during the past 15 years but
particularly since 1994 (Table 2). This growth was
accompanied by increase in the number of plastic
factories from 152 in 1994 to 156, 161, 167, 178,
191, and 202 in the years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999
and 2000, respectively. The growth in the number
of these factories and the amounts of imported pel-
lets and the parallel increase in the potential spill
accidents will lead to an increase in the quantities
of spilled pellets. The local factories that produce
raw plastic materials were 28 in 1994, increased to
32 in 1995 and reached 34 in 1998. However, the
number decreased dramatically to 11 in 1999 and
only 10 in 2000, which indicates that Jordan is de-
pending mainly, and will continue to depend, on the
imported material.
The available evidence suggests that Aqaba Port
is the main source of plastic pellets found on the
beaches of the most northern side of the Jordan
Gulf of Aqaba. There appears to be a general lack
of communication between the Aqaba port employ-
ers and workers with regard to infor mation related to
the prevention of plastic pellets spillage. Employers
and workers appear to be unaware of the negative
impacts of pellets and their responsibility and role
to prevent the release of plastic pellets into the en-
vironment. Poor routine operations using manual
and mechanical handling, poor housekeeping prac-
tices, inadequate packing, and inappropriate cargo
handling seem to be the main causes of plastic pel-
lets spillage and pollution. The results of the present
study and the available information suggest that pre-
ventive measures are the most effective means of
controlling, limiting and/or minimizing plastic pel-
lets pollution in the study area. The measures and
actions may include but are not restricted to the fol-
lowing:
r
Establish and install interceptors at storage yards
and on dock to prevent spilled pellets from reach-
ing the marine environment.
r
Use of skip covers for all product transfers.
r
Vehicles used for carrying and transportation
of plastic pellets sacks must be inspected and
checked to ensure suitable management actions.
r
Educate the Aqaba Port employers and workers
with regard to the negative impacts of pellets on
the marine environment, and their responsibility
for preventing this type of pollution.
r
Provide guidance for the implementation of in-
structions and regulation addressing this problem.
Conclusions
The counts, abundance and distribution of pel-
lets on the beaches of the study area are highly
variable due to more than one factor. High num-
bers of plastic pellets were found on sandy beaches,
whereas no pellets were seen on boulder, pebble,
or shingle beaches. Pellet numbers on the protected
sandy beaches are abnormally high compared to
other beaches because the access to these beaches
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Abu-Hilal and Al-Najjar / Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 12 (2009) 461–470 469
is controlled and the beaches remain undisturbed
and thus subject to minimal human activities. The
beaches facing the prevailing winds, currents, waves
and incoming tides are permanent recipient of the
floating plastic pellets and other objects. Beaches
which are fronted by wide and well developed reef
flats, have gentle slopes and flat back beaches act as
effective traps for pellets that accumulate over time,
particularly in small pockets, ditches and trenches.
The pellets are absent from the boulder, shingle and
pebble parts of the beaches mostly because the pel-
lets are lost to view in the sieving effect of water fil-
tering down. The physiography of the beaches seems
to influence the retention of pellets; narrow width
and narrow zone of wave energy dissipation and
consequent high frequency of overlapping between
high water marks, operate against the deposition and
accumulation of pellets; whereas the tidal streams
remove pellets seaward following slack water. Wide
back beaches and shallow gradient of some beaches
result in a wide reaching zone between high and
low water marks, which in turn results in pellets
remaining settled on the back beaches for longer
periods after herding, without being disturbed by
wave action. Open recreational beaches are highly
accessible by the public and therefore, the natural
accumulation and distribution of the plastic pellets
is highly disturbed; the pellets are widely dissemi-
nated, lost to view, and mixed with or buried in sand,
and therefore counts of pellets in these beaches may
be underestimated. The number of pellets seems
to decrease with increasing distance from the port,
increasing human activities on sandy beaches, and
with increasing width of the back beach.
Most of the pellets found were fresh or abraded
very little, but some appear to be old, yellow or light
brown and show varying degrees of degradation;
brittle, crazed with fine cracks, irregularly shaped
chunks and fissures suggesting that plastic pellets on
these beaches are not a recent problem. The princi-
pal source of plastic pellets is the main Aqaba Cargo
Port. Likely causes are spillages at sea, accidental
spillages during handling on wharves or from the
tops of vehicles during loading and transpor t of pel-
lets, from inland storage areas within the port and
from splits in sacks stacked on pallets, which have
been accidentally punctured during handling. The
available evidence suggests employers and workers
are unaware of the negative impacts of pellets, and
their responsibility and role in preventing the re-
lease of plastic pellets into the environment. Poor
routine operations using inappropriate manual and
mechanical handling, poor housekeeping practices,
and inadequate packing seem to be the main causes
of plastic pellets spillage and pollution. The results
of the present study and the available information
suggest that preventive measures are the most effec-
tive means of controlling, limiting and/or minimiz-
ing plastic pellets pollution in the study area.
Acknowledgements
This study was financially supported by the
Deanship of Scientific Research and Higher Studies
of Yarmouk University grant. The encouragement
and support by the Council of the Marine Science
Station representing the University of Jordan and
Yarmouk University is highly acknowledged. The
authors thank Mr. Khalid Al-Tarabeen for his as-
sistance in the field and lab works and Mr. Yousef
Jamal for his excellent in situ colored photographs
of the plastic pellets. Thanks are extended to Mr.
Wajeeh Yousef and Mr. Khaldoun Mahafdha for the
scanning electron micrographs of the pellets.
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