Marine debris in the Derwent Estuary : behaviour and perception of beach users

Marine debris is a recognised form of marine pollution. Its impacts on marine biota (marine mammals, sea birds, coral reefs, plants, fishes) have been widely documented. Apart from this, its impacts on human health have in addition drawn the attention of global community. It has impacted tourism due to the reducing aesthetic values of marine environment. A high economic cost is associated with clean ups in order to minimize these impacts associated to marine debris. Researchers have shown that marine debris has led to environmental degradation on the beaches around the world. Though legislative instruments exist to mitigate the problem and international, national and state legislation have been adopted worldwide, they are yet to be strongly implemented. The aim of the research project was to determine behaviour and perceptions of Derwent Estuary beach users about marine debris. A total of ten beaches around Hobart were surveyed from August to September 2014. Social perception surveys on littering was performed through structured questionnaires which also included participants activities at the beaches of whether or not their activities contribute to the issue and their suggestions to improve beach condition was noted. Participants over the age of 18 were only included during surveys. Chi-square analysis was used for assessing people's perceptions activities beaches and recommendations to combat the issue. The results from the beach surveys show that 32% of people answered that they have littered in the past which is consistent with the similar studies conducted elsewhere.