Mapping microplastic hotspots and seabird rescue patterns

Methods

Summary

How will we monitor microplastics on our beaches?

Ocean Best Practice - Methodology Version 2

During this pilot, trained community volunteers will follow a standardised, repeatable method at selected beaches across the Northern Rivers.

At each survey, the team will monitor two beach zones:

• The strandline — the line where the most recent high tide leaves material.

• The supra-tidal zone — the area further up the beach, where material may be deposited during more extreme conditions.

The team will record and collect beach material from these zones for microplastic assessment. We define microplastics as plastic pieces between 1 and 5 mm, and record mesoplastics between 5 and 25 mm separately.

Repeating the same method fortnightly during the three-month pilot will help us compare findings between visits and sites. We’ll also consider the results alongside ASTR wildlife rescue records, while recognising that rescue records don’t measure wildlife abundance or, on their own, prove that microplastics caused harm.

Tides, wind, river and rainwater drainage, and ocean currents can all move material across beaches and dunes. Recording conditions consistently will help us interpret what we find.

What would you be most curious to learn from this monitoring?

Oliveira, A. C. M. & Azevedo, A. C. M. (2024). Rede de Monitoramento de Microplástico: Guia Metodológico. 2nd edition. Our
Blue Hands and Deep Blue Associação Ambiental.
 The Big Microplastic Survey. Sampling resources and project information. Just One Ocean and University of Portsmouth.
https://microplasticsurvey.org...
 Kershaw, P. J., Turra, A. & Galgani, F. (eds.) (2019). Guidelines for the Monitoring and Assessment of Plastic Litter in the
Ocean. GESAMP Reports and Studies No. 99. https://www.gesamp.org/publica...
assessment-of-plastic-litter-in-the-ocean
 Jones, D. M. et al. (2025). Increasing our understanding of coastal microplastics and mesoplastics: a comparison of sampling
methodologies using volunteer researchers. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 29, 27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852...
01112-2