Prevalence of Plastic Debris in Beach Sediments of Sutrapada, Saurashtra Coast of Gujarat, India

This study evaluates plastic debris occurrence and physical characteristics from selected stations in beach sediments at Sutrapada, Saurashtra coast of Gujarat, India, from November 2020 to April 2021.Sutrapada Chowpatty (Station 1) and Sutrapada Bandar (Station 2) were selected for beach sediment sample collection.The abundance of macro-plastics, meso-plastics, and microplastics in stations 1 and 2 ranged between 2.9 to 8.5 and 3 to 10.1 items/m , 5.5 to 10.1 and 3.55 to 8.72 items/m , 4.33 to 20.33 and 6.83 to 16.33 items/100g, 2 2 respectively.At Stations 1 & 2, the dominant macro-plastic shape, size and colour were fragment and fibre, >2.5 cm and 5 cm and white and blue, respectively.At Stations 1 and 2, the dominant meso-plastic shape, size and colour were fragment and thermocoel, 1 cm -1.5 cm and 1.5 -2 cm (both stations) and white and yellow, respectively.Stations 1 and 2, dominated by microplastic shapes, size and colour, were fibre, 1-2 mm & 2-4 mm and black for both stations, respectively.These results could be attributed to fishing, small-scale fisheries business, and tourism activities in a coastal town.The present study provides the origins of plastic waste in coastal areas, laying the groundwork for formulating sustainable, enduring plans and strategies to manage and control plastic pollution in the coastal environment.