Recital (18)

When plastic pellets are released and dispersed into the marine environment, they can harm living resources and marine life and can interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea, such as fishing and aquaculture. As plastic pellets look like fish egg to birds, they comprise about 70 % of the plastic eaten by seabirds, despite the fact that only 0,05 % of plastic pieces from surface waters are pellets. Such small plastic pieces have been found in the stomachs of 63 of the world’s approximately 250 species of seabirds. Furthermore, by weight, plastic pellets are estimated to be the second largest direct source of microplastic marine pollution. It is estimated that billions of individual plastic pellets enter the ocean every year. This is due to both small- and large-scale losses and spills occurring on land and sea during all stages of the supply chain, especially while plastic pellets are in transit. Additionally, plastic pellets can wash up on beaches and coastlines and, as a result, negatively impact tourism and shore-based activities. Several incidents involving seagoing vessels resulted in several tonnes of plastic pellets being released in the marine environment with disastrous consequences for the environment and local communities. For example, the Toconao accident impacting the northern coast of Spain in 2023 caused the loss of six freight containers, amongst which one freight container was holding one thousand 25 kg sacks of plastic pellets. This resulted in millions of plastic pellets being washed up on the Galician Coast.