A research project funded by 1.5 million euros quantifies the extent of plastic pollution in the central Mediterranean. Scientists warn about the contamination of the food chain and its health consequences for riparian populations, including on the Tunisian coasts.
Fabrizio Pepe, a professor at the University of Palermo, presented the first results of the MAEstri project at the Steri Institute. His observation is clear: the Mediterranean basin concentrates 7% of the microplastics present on the planet while it represents only 1% of the total volume of world waters. This disproportion makes the Mediterranean the most polluted sea in the world by microplastics, a situation that directly concerns Tunisia, whose coastline is bathed in this closed sea.
The MAEstri project, an acronym for « Predictive models of the accumulation of microplastics in coastal marine areas, effects on biodiversity and pollution reduction strategies », was designed and coordinated by the University of Palermo. It is receiving funding of 1.5 million euros under the Interreg Italy-Malta programme. Work began in May 2025 and will be completed in 2027.
The objective of this program is to develop the first predictive model of the accumulation of microplastics in the Central Mediterranean. The researchers will integrate all the data collected in numerical simulations. Therefore, they will be able to describe, simulate and predict the distribution of these particles over the next ten years. The model will also identify the coastal areas most vulnerable to accumulation and clarify the mechanisms that determine their concentration.
The work is conducted by Professors Fabrizio Pepe and Gianluca Sarà as well as by Dr. Marta Corradino of the Department of Earth and Sea Sciences at the University of Palermo. They associate several scientific partners: the universities of Messina, Catania and Malta, the National Research Council (CNR) of the Cité du Détroit and the Maltese Ministry of Public Works.
The high concentration of microplastics in the Mediterranean leads to their introduction into the food chain. Fabrizio Pepe explained that the fish evolving in this ecosystem ingest these microparticles. What’s more, these particles are then transferred to humans by the consumption of seafood.
The human body is not adapted to the presence of microplastics. Therefore, this contamination causes pathologies, inflammation and various associated health problems. Tunisian coastal populations, whose diet includes a significant share of fish and seafood, are exposed to this health risk.
On the other hand, ocean currents transport these pollutants over long distances. The Tunisian coasts thus receive part of the microplastics circulating in the Mediterranean basin. The MAEstri project will make it possible to specify the coastal areas most exposed to this accumulation.
The numerical simulations developed as part of this project will provide authorities and economic actors with precise data on the evolution of plastic pollution. In addition to mapping critical areas, these models will help to understand how microplastics will be distributed over time in the central Mediterranean.
source : realites
