Distribution and Composition of Beach Litter along the Ionian Coastline of Albania
, Francisco Asensio-Montesinos 2, Aurora Bakaj 3, Mariola Ismailaj 3 and Geolind Cobaj 3
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript reads very well and is on the important topic of beach littering. I would recommend that you consider including a section on the possible recommendations that might be considered by local authorities, like shared responsibility for the operators who run shops, resorts, and facilities. Also polluter pays concept would discipline the users (tourists or shop owners) and introduce some jobs for environmental policing, and clean up using some simple techniques like scraping with sieves, which had very high efficiency of removal, etc. I am sure you have much better ideas and suggestions.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageEnglish is fine.
Author Response
The manuscript reads very well and is on the important topic of beach littering. I would recommend that you consider including a section on the possible recommendations that might be considered by local authorities, like shared responsibility for the operators who run shops, resorts, and facilities. Also polluter pays concept would discipline the users (tourists or shop owners) and introduce some jobs for environmental policing, and clean up using some simple techniques like scraping with sieves, which had very high efficiency of removal, etc. I am sure you have much better ideas and suggestions.
RESPONSE: Thank you, we added this issue in a new section within “Discussion”.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe study presents a detailed investigation (abundance, distribution and composition) of the types of litter present on sixteen beaches from Albania. The authors have carried out a study aimed at the management of the beaches from which the quality of the beaches can be classified.
The study does not present a scientific description of the impact of these types of waste on the quality of coastal waters. In my opinion, the authors should make a correlation between the quantity/composition of the litter and how it can influence the water quality and/or the quality of the ecosystems in the supralittoral zone.
Author Response
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Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis is an excellent work and publishable. This reads very well. Just a comment- what is the difference between "village" and "rural"?
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis article investigates coastal litter along the Ionian coastline. Although it is a good study, many sections need improvement. The Introduction is incomplete and inappropriately organized. Site description lacks explanation about anthropogenic activities. Some results are not described in the Methodology. The Discussion lacks the most important part, that is how plastic (which was found to be the most abundant type of litter) would affect the environment, and thus urging for Albanian’s government to take immediate action. The authors should address these comments section by section
Introduction
- Since this article is about coastal litter, the first paragraph should begin with how the litters enter the ocean. Move Ln 58-71 to be the first paragraph of the Introduction.
- Ln 61, add this reference to support that not only ships but also ports and other shipping activities are the main sources of marine litter. doi:10.3390/oceans4040025
- Ln 58-71; Another aspect that the authors forgot to mention is the trapped litter in coastal structures, such as revetment as a debris collector. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19646
- Then rearrange the Introduction.
- Since the objective of this study covers the subsequent environmental policy and management action. The Discussion should also discuss this aspect (which is now totally missing).
Materials and Methods
- This section is well-written and easy to understand.
- Sec 2.1, can you add information about average/maximum water current velocity and wind speed?
- Fig 1, Lat/Long is required for every map and sub-map.
- The authors should add information about the percentage of land use in Vlora Bay and Albanian Riviera.
- Ln 108, Anthropogenic activities at every studied beach must be explained and tabulated. Explaining only a few beaches raises the question of what activities other beaches have.
- Ln 139, why in November – December? Please explain in the text.
- Ln 134, how did you distinguish the dissipative/reflective beach? Did you observe spilling or surging wave breaking? During November – December, were the waves big enough to notice wave breaking?
- During the sampling period November – December 2022, how could you be certain that the local government did not just clean the beach? Some beaches in Table 2 were very clean.
Results
- All topic number 4.XX should be changed to 3.XX
- Ln 196-198 should be moved under the Methods section
- Can you provide real photos as examples of the studied beaches of how 0.023 kg/m2, and how 0.0005 kg/m2 look like? As a reader, I will be able to understand better.
- Fig 3, since the majority of the litter is plastic. A new sub-section that focuses on the fate of plastics (that can travel far away and eventually break down and become microplastics and affect the marine environment and organisms) should be added to the Discussion. So that this article can urge the government to do something.
- Fig 3, figure caption should be changed to “Beach litter composition of all the studied sites”.
- Ln 245-259 presents other interesting results but comes out of nowhere. A reader like me is not familiar with these beaches and does not understand the causes of such findings in Ln 245-259. This is why I request the authors to add a new table to explain anthropogenic activities at all the studied beaches in Sec 2.
- Ln 294; Every result should be mentioned in the Methods. The nMDS is completely missing in the Methods.
Discussion
- I like the Discussion. It is thorough and covers every aspect of the results.
- Nevertheless, as the objective of this article mentions subsequent environmental policy and management action, a new sub-section in the Discussion should be added that focuses on future consequences if marine litter (especially plastics, which were found to be the most abundant in this study) is ignored. Plastic on beaches can drift very far away from its origin and affects the environment. Please refer to https://doi.org/10.33175/mtr.2024.265418 for a simple diagram that is useful to illustrate how plastics break down into microplastics and leads to bioaccumulation. There is a study that clearly shows that the nauplii of Artemia sp. are affected by microplastic: https://doi.org/10.33175/mtr.2024.270722. The authors should extensively discuss the environmental consequences if coastal litter along the Albanian shoreline is not urgently addressed. Finally, the authors can complete the objective set at the beginning of this research.
Conclusion
- Ln527-533, you cannot conclude like this without discussing it first.
Author Response
Please see attached file
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 5 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis paper investigates the type and content of rubbish on Albanian beaches, the topic of the paper is interesting and original, but the format of the paper really needs to be revised, in addition to some other suggestions for improvement. The details are as follows:
1. The abstract is too brief and does not fully reflect the work of the paper.
2. Typically, there are 4-6 keywords; please reduce.
3. The introduction does not highlight the significance and necessity of this study; it only describes the study area and beach litter.
4. The survey was conducted from November to December 2022. Were these months peak or off-peak tourist seasons? Could the seasonality of tourism affect the results? Additionally, was the collection limited to surface litter, or did it also consider litter buried in soil or sand?
5. Are there differences in the types of litter between urban and rural beaches?
6. The use of superscripts is incorrect; it should be kg m⁻² instead of kg m-2.
7. The format of the paper needs to be verified: the numbering of the titles are inconsistent, equations are not centred, and the formatting of Table 1 and 2 are not aesthetically pleasing.
8. In addition to stating the conclusions, the conclusion should highlight the limitations of the study and suggest directions for future research.
Author Response
Please see attached file
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI appreciate the author for addressing my comments. The site description has been improved. Map quality is acceptable, and land use percentage has been added. The Discussion is now complete, clearly discussing management of coastal litter, and urging the government to take action. The article can be accepted in its present form
Reviewer 5 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThank you for your revision.
