Costa Mar beaches yield record plastic haul in autumn sweep

The Costa Mar Reef Monitoring Network released its September cleanup tally on Thursday, showing 47 metric tons of plastic, fishing line, and nutrient-laden sediment removed from five municipalities between Puerto Azul and the southern peninsula. The figure marks the largest single-month haul in the program's five-year history, driven by a combination of seasonal weather patterns and expanded volunteer participation in the cooperative cleanup effort.

Water-quality readings from the same period show nitrogen and phosphorus levels declining at three of five monitoring stations, a development the Network attributed to both the cleanup effort and reduced agricultural runoff during the transition from wet to dry season. Readings from the Puerto Azul harbor station showed nutrient concentrations at 2.4 milligrams per liter—the lowest recorded in eighteen months.

The result reflects growing coordination between the Marine Ministry in Puerto Azul, local eco-tourism operators, and the small-boat fishing cooperative, which has begun recovering abandoned nets and debris during regular working weeks. The cooperative's participation has reduced the workload on volunteer cleanup crews while generating data on where marine litter accumulates most densely.