VOLUME 11 NUMBER 1 (January to June 2018)

by Neil Angelo S. Abreo^1,2

¹Regional Integrated Coastal Resource Management Center (RIC-XI),
     Davao Oriental State, College of Science and Technology, Mati City,
     Davao Oriental, Philippines
²Institute of Aquatic and Applied Sciences, Davao del Norte State College,
     Panabo City, 1015, Philippines

Plastics in the marine environment, aptly named “marine plastics,” are considered as a global threat to marine biodiversity. A plethora of species has been reported to have succumbed to the harmful effects of these marine pollutants (Kühn et al. 2015). The number of affected marine species is expected to rise as research on this topic increases (Ryan 2015). For example, Abreo et al. (2016a) provided the first evidence of plastic ingestion by Deriniyagala’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon hotaula). Minimum estimates on the number of marine plastics in the world’s oceans are currently placed at 5.25 trillion pieces (Eriksen et al. 2014). Moreover, Jambeck et al. (2015) estimate the global input of marine plastic at 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons per year. This increasing number of plastic in the marine environment through the years could also mean an increase in interactions with different marine species. Overlap in the distribution of marine debris, including marine plastics, and the foraging habitats of marine species will result as marine plastics become more ubiquitous.