Beachcomber’s Guide to Marine Debris

Michael Stachowitsch received his B.Sc. degree at the Univ. of Pittsburgh and his Ph.D. at the Univ. of Vienna. He has successfully managed to maintain a career as a marine biologist in a landlocked country, conducting research in the Adriatic and Red Seas and teaching numerous university courses. He is the long-term Austrian coordinator of a Mediterranean sea turtle conservation project in Turkey and represents Austria at the International Whaling Commission. Michael's many activities as a scientist, author, translator and editor have taken him to beaches around the globe: the fauna and flora differ from shore to shore, the beach litter is astoundingly uniform – and abundant. Decades on hands and knees with a camera yielded this book and revealed unsettling truths about human attitudes and behavior.

• Foreword.- Preface.- Introduction.- Glass.- Metal.- Plastic.- Foamed plastic (styrofoam).- Personal hygiene.- Medical wastes.- Furniture & furnishings.- Apparel.- Water sports.- Fishing gear.- Wood.- Paper.- Organic debris.- Oil and Tar.- Smoking.- Acknowledgements.- References.- Further Reading.- Contacts.- Index.