Assessing the scale and ecological impact of derelict and discarded fishing gear across Thailand via the MARsCI citizen science protocol.

South-East Asia is among the least studied regions for the growing issue of marine debris pollution, despite being a major contributor towards global marine debris. In the present study, we provide the preliminary results from the MARsCI project, a survey protocol designed to utilise citizen science to facilitate data collection on the ecological impact of discarded fishing gear (DFG) in Thailand. Over a three-year period, 103 surveys were carried out across Thailand, resulting in impact assessment of 606 pieces of DFG. Our findings indicate corals are regularly impacted by DFG in Thai waters and that isolated marine habitats may be more severely impacted than near-shore sites. We further identify crabs, muricid snails, and demersal fish to be among the most regularly entangled animals. We discuss our findings in the context of earlier work from Thailand, and conduct a critical review of the protocol itself, identifying improvements for future efforts.

• Publication year

  2024

• Venue

  Marine Pollution Bulletin

• Publication date

  2024-06-18

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116577PMID 38896959
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Spatiotemporal variations in marine macro-litter pollution along the shoreline of Koh Mun Nai, an uninhabited island in the Gulf of Thailand.

  2024cited by this paper
• Hazard and catch composition of ghost fishing gear revealed by a citizen science clean-up initiative

  2023cited by this paper
• The Impacts of Abandoned, Discarded and Lost Fishing Gear on Marine Biodiversity in Morocco

  2023cited by this paper
• Coral cover remains suppressed three years after derelict net removal in a remote shallow water coral reef ecosystem.

  2023cited by this paper
• A cup half full: the first assessment on the distribution, ecology and need for conservation of the threatened Neptune’s cup sponge, Cliona patera, in the Gulf of Thailand

  2023cited by this paper
• Properties and Recyclability of Abandoned Fishing Net-Based Plastic Debris

  2022cited by this paper
• Stakeholders’ Perspectives for Taking Action to Prevent Abandoned, Lost, or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear in Gillnet Fisheries, Taiwan

  2022cited by this paper
• Global estimates of fishing gear lost to the ocean each year

  2022cited by this paper
• Catch composition and risk assessment of two fishing gears used in small-scale fisheries of Bandon Bay, the Gulf of Thailand

  2022cited by this paper
• An updated inventory of sea slugs from Koh Tao, Thailand, with notes on their ecology and a dramatic biodiversity increase for Thai waters

  2021cited by this paper
• Contrasting coral community structures between natural and artificial substrates at Koh Tao, Gulf of Thailand.

  2021cited by this paper
• Global Causes, Drivers, and Prevention Measures for Lost Fishing Gear

  2021cited by this paper
• Challenges and misperceptions around global fishing gear loss estimates

  2021cited by this paper
• Catch composition and estimated economic impacts of ghost-fishing squid traps near Suan Son Beach, Rayong province, Thailand

  2020cited by this paper
• Coral fracture by derelict fishing gear affects the sustainability of the marginal reefs of Ecuador

  2020cited by this paper
• Ghost fishing impacts on hydrocorals and associated reef fish assemblages.

  2020cited by this paper
• Successful application of a novel technique to quantify negative impacts of derelict fishing nets on Northwestern Hawaiian Island reefs.

  2020cited by this paper
• Tracing the origin of olive ridley turtles entangled in ghost nets in the Maldives: A phylogeographic assessment of populations at risk

  2020cited by this paper
• Estimates of fishing gear loss rates at a global scale: A literature review and meta‐analysis

  2019cited by this paper
• Social media as a novel source of data on the impact of marine litter on megafauna: The Philippines as a case study.

  2019cited by this paper
• Global review of shark and ray entanglement in anthropogenic marine debris

  2019cited by this paper
• Marine animal forests as useful indicators of entanglement by marine litter.

  2018cited by this paper
• Plastic nets as substrate for reef corals in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

  2018cited by this paper
• Type and quantity of coastal debris pollution in Taiwan: A 12-year nationwide assessment using citizen science data.

  2018cited by this paper
• Pollution and coral damage caused by derelict fishing gear on coral reefs around Koh Tao, Gulf of Thailand.

  2018cited by this paper
• Study on the microplastics release from fishing nets

  2018cited by this paper
• A global review of marine turtle entanglement in anthropogenic debris: A baseline for further action

  2017cited by this paper
• Incorporating citizen science to study plastics in the environment

  2017cited by this paper
• A review of ghost gear entanglement amongst marine mammals, reptiles and elasmobranchs.

  2016cited by this paper
• Assessing baseline levels of coral health in a newly established marine protected area in a global scuba diving hotspot.

  2015cited by this paper
• Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean

  2015cited by this paper
• Deleterious Effects of Litter on Marine Life

  2015cited by this paper
• Protected areas mitigate diseases of reef-building corals by reducing damage from fishing.

  2015cited by this paper
• Out of sight but not out of mind: harmful effects of derelict traps in selected U.S. coastal waters.

  2014cited by this paper
• Impacts of marine debris on wild animals in the coastal area of Korea.

  2013cited by this paper
• Ghostnet impacts on globally threatened turtles, a spatial risk analysis for northern Australia

  2013cited by this paper
• Impacts of pollution on marine life in Southeast Asia

  2010cited by this paper
• Ghost fishing by monofilament and multifilament gillnets in Izmir Bay, Turkey

  2006cited by this paper
• A review of ghost fishing: scientific approaches to evaluation and solutions

  2005cited by this paper
• Damage to Cauliflower Coral by Monofilament Fishing Lines in Hawaii

  2004cited by this paper
• The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: a review.

  2002cited by this paper
• A REVIEW OF THE HERMIT-CRAB (DECAPODA: ANOMURA: PAGURIDEA) FAUNA OF SOUTHERN THAILAND, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THE ANDAMAN SEA, AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THREE NEW SPECIES

  2002cited by this paper
• Occurrence and biological impacts of fishing gear and other marine debris in the Florida Keys.

  2002cited by this paper
• Impacts of Marine Debris: Entanglement of Marine Life in Marine Debris Including a Comprehensive List of Species with Entanglement and Ingestion Records

  1997cited by this paper

• Coral spawning patterns in the Gulf of Thailand reveal synchronised annual daytime spawning, with a review of spawning patterns in Pavona corals across the Indo-Pacific.

  2026cites this paper
• To GRaB or not to GRaB: a citizen science-based, decision-making index to assess the biological implications of lost fishing gears retrieval

  2026cites this paper
• Under-recognized impacts of abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear on threatened marine wildlife in the remote Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal: A baseline study

  2026cites this paper
• Environmental effects of plastic pollution from lost, discarded, and abandoned fishing gear on underwater pinnacles in the Gulf of Thailand

  2026cites this paper
• An unseen threat to coral reef biodiversity: the international trade of live corals for the aquarium industry as reflected by CITES records (1990–2021)

  2026cites this paper
• Using citizen science to inventory and map abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG).

  2025cites this paper
• Differing Competitive Hierarchies Between Scleractinian Corals on Natural Reefs and Recruits on Artificial Reefs

  2025cites this paper
• Assessing the Perception and Value of Marine Biodiversity and Taxonomy Research by the Recreational Diving Tourism Industry in Thailand

  2025cites this paper
• Comparing rapid assessment methodologies in response to widespread epibiosis by Haliclona sp. (Porifera) on coral reef pinnacles in the Gulf of Thailand

  2024cites this paper