3.3.1. MPs Sources and Spatial Distribution

Contributed keywords can be found in cluster red and green in Figures 4 and 5, including marine plastic pollution, marine debris, beach, surface water, Mediterranean, accumulation, etc.

To address the key MPs problems, the international community has already developed policy responses, such as the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which is an ambitious program aimed at preventing MPs pollution. The scientific literature related to sources, pathways, and distribution of MPs is already substantial and constantly growing. MPs have been observed in almost every habitat of the aquatic environment, including ocean surface water [41], the water column [42], beaches [43], subtidal and deep-sea sediments [44,45], and freshwater lakes [46]. However, how to integrate MPs monitoring into existing environmental monitoring programs with reliable quantification routines requires further work.
