Summary of the economic impact of marine plastic pollution in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Saint Lucia
The impacts of marine plastics on the fisheries and tourism sectors in 2019 were estimated for Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Saint Lucia. Impact estimates were based on both plastic accumulation and leakage into the marine environment from these countries and other countries bordering the Caribbean Sea.
Plastics impact fisheries through dumped catch, fouling incidents, net repairs and time lost cleaning nets; while ghost fishing can generate additional revenue losses. Tourism can be impacted when tourists are no longer willing to visit, due to plastic litter on beaches. In order to avoid this impact, beach clean-up costs need to be incurred. These, and other factors, are costs associated with marine plastic pollution.
The full studies can be read in English on this page. The summaries of each study are available for reading and download here in English, French, and Spanish.
The work of Plastic Waste Free Islands was funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation - Norad.