3 March 2014: The European Environment Agency (EEA) has announced the launch of a mobile phone application to track marine litter. The application, called Marine Litter Watch, can be used to upload data on litter found on the beach or from area clean-ups. The application seeks to fill data gaps on beach marine litter to support a policy response as described in the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

Marine Litter Watch is also meant to involve citizens in litter collection and monitoring. The application builds on the Directive’s monitoring guidelines developed by the Technical Group on Marine Litter, a group of experts established to support MSFD implementation. The application depends on three elements; organized citizen groups, a mobile application and a database. Surveys on items found on the beach can then be created through the application, which is available for Android devices and will soon be developed for iPhone and iPad.

The goal of MFSD, adopted in 2008, is to more effectively protect the marine environment across Europe, as well as achieve good environmental status of the European Union’s marine waters by 2020. [EEA News on application] [EEA News on citizens, litter] [Marine Litter Watch Application] [European Marine Strategy Framework Directive]