On 11 October 2026, the European project CIRCULAROCEAN at the Playa de Tazacorte on La Palma carried out a scheduled sample collection to record marine litter. The activity, conducted by the Sociedad Española de Ornitología – SEO/BirdLife, is part of a standardised monitoring programme at 30 reference beaches across the eight Canary Islands and the islet of Alegranza with four survey campaigns per year. Those taking part in the visit included the Canary Islands’ regional minister for Transición Ecológica y Energía, Mariano H. Zapata, and SEO/BirdLife’s technical project lead in the islands, María José Pérezattended the opening of the fourth conference.
CIRCULAROCEAN aims to build a reliable understanding of the scale, composition and possible seasonal variations of beach litter, so that prevention and management measures can be designed on the basis of data. The surveys record the quantity and material type of objects found, as well as clues to their origin. The methodology follows European standards and the framework of the OSPAR Convention. Those responsible stress that individual samples provide only snapshots; only repeated measurements at fixed locations can reveal patterns and trends.
The monitoring addresses the previously fragmented information available on marine litter in the archipelago. The project is therefore using a consistent system of georeferenced data, linking finds to their locations, enabling comparisons between beaches and islands, and allowing the data to be integrated with research in other Atlantic regions. Analysis is intended to show how the waste burden is distributed across the archipelago and whether there are seasonal differences.
CIRCULAROCEAN is co-funded under the INTERREG MAC 2021–2027 programme by the European Regional Development Fund. The project has a budget of 2.2 million euros. It involves 17 organisations from the regions of Macaronesia and partner countries in West Africa, including the Azores, Madeira, Cabo Verde, Ghana, and São Tomé and Príncipe. As well as monitoring, its work includes collecting, sorting and treating marine litter and assessing recycling and recovery routes, as part of a circular economy approach.
Assessment and outlook: The standardised, archipelago-wide dataset can support targeted measures adapted to regional and seasonal conditions. Their impact, however, depends on surveys being conducted consistently and on administrations and municipalities using the results. Longer-term trends cannot be substantiated until complete annual cycles have been covered; ongoing campaigns are laying the groundwork.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).