From shallow to deep water: A large-scale assessment of seafloor marine macrolitter in the Italian seas by ROV-imaging.

. Fishery-related litter (mainly lines and ropes) was the most common type, accounting for ≈70.8% of the total items. This work provides the first comprehensive picture of seafloor marine litter in the Italian seas. In addition, it shows that 87% of sites exceeded the European threshold (expressed as litter density) for seafloor marine litter, recently defined under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive Descriptor 10. The results underscore the need for urgent, targeted measures to manage marine pollution and reduce inputs of environmental litter.