Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Maritime traffic accounts for more than 90% of world trade. Noise, pollution, and litter are its drawbacks, affecting especially vulnerable migratory fish. Here, a motivated team of citizen scientists analyzed maritime traffic from three estuaries of the south Bay of Biscay and three from the south of the Iberian Peninsula, where the European eel is critically endangered, during the season of the entrance of glass eels. More than 164,000 data about ship types and positions were collected. Results showed that traffic differences between estuaries would explain, at least partially, the different eel conservation status. The participants appreciated learning about ships and nature conservation and acquiring awareness of the real volume of shipping and its potential impacts. All the citizen scientists, new and experienced, would like to get involved in ocean research again.
Source: Oceans
Institution: Universidad de Oviedo
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,930
OpenAlex ID: W7084030077