I The Status of Marine Debris. - Section I. Amounts Types and Distribution. - 1. Debris in the Mediterranean Sea: Types Quantities and Behavior. - 2. Distribution of Floating Debris in the North Pacific Ocean: Sighting Surveys 19861991. - 3. Marine Debris in the Caribbean Region. - 4. Distribution Type Accumulation and Source of Marine Debris in the United States 19891993. - 5. Pelagic Plastics and Other Seaborne Persistent Synthetic Debris: A Review of Southern Hemisphere Perspectives. - SECTION II. Biological Impacts. - 6. The Highest Global Concentrations and Increased Abundance of Oceanic Plastic Debris in the North Pacific: Evidence from Seabirds. - 7. Encrusters Epibionts and Other Biota Associated with Pelagic Plastics: A Review of Biogeographical Environmental and Conservation Issues. - 8. Impacts of Marine Debris: Entanglement of Marine Life in Marine Debris Including a Comprehensive List of Species with Entanglement and Ingestion Records. - 9. Ghost-Fishing Gear: Have Fishing Practices During the Past Few Years Reduced the Impact?. - II The Sources and Solutions to the Marine Debris Dilemma. - SECTION III. The Socioeconomics of Marine Debris. - 10. A Socioeconomic Theory for Controlling Marine Debris: Is Moral Suasion a Reliable Policy Tool?. - 11. Marine Debris: Benefits Costs and Choices. - 12. The Economic Value of Controlling Marine Debris. - 13. A Comprehensive Waste Management Model for Marine Debris. - SECTION IV. Considering the Maritime Sources of Debris. - 14. Shipping and Marine Debris in the Wider Caribbean: Answering a Difficult Challenge. - 15. The Challenges of Ship-Generated Garbage in the Caribbean. - 16. MARPOL Annex V Commercial Ships and Port Reception Facilities: Making It Work. - 17. Comparison of MARPOL Annex V Port Reception Facilitiesfor Garbage in the U. S. Gulf of Mexico and the United Kingdom. - 18. Waste Disposal Practices of Fishing Vessels: Canada's East Coast 19901991. - 19. Dealing with Ship-Generated Plastics Waste on U. S. Navy Surface Ships. - 20. Recreational Boaters and Marine Debris: How We Can Effectively Reduce Littering. - 21. A Strategy to Reduce Control and Minimize Vessel-Source Marine Debris. - SECTION V. Considering the Land-Based Sources of Debris. - 22. Legal Regulation of Upland Discharges of Marine Debris: From Local to Global Controls and Back. - 23. Comparison of the Results of Two EPA Marine Debris Studies. - 24. New York and New Jersey Beaches: It Was a Very Good Year. - 25. Sources of Plastic Pellets in the Aquatic Environment. - 26. Implementation and Assessment of a Floatables Action Plan for the New York-New Jersey Harbor Complex. - 27. The Control of Floating Debris in an Urban River. - 28. Linkages Between Land-Based Sources of Pollution and Marine Debris. - 29. Upland Sources of Marine Debris on the Shorelines of Puerto Rico. - 30. Land-Based Sources of Marine Debris and Contamination of the Coastal Areas of the Caribbean Islands of St. Lucia Dominica and the British Virgin Islands. - 31. Strategies to Reduce Control and Minimize Land-Source Marine Debris. - Literature Cited. Language: English