Fate of debris from aquaculture sites around Korea

Styrofoam-type buoys have been widely used in aquaculture around Korea. Improperly disposed Styrofoam that is easily fragmented produce a large numbers of marine debris around Korea. Using a Lagrangian particle tracking model, the trajectories of marine debris due to Styrofoam buoys are investigated. Daily ocean current data of HYCOM analysis and wind data of ECMWF reanalysis were used in the model. Particles were released daily and the initial positions and the amount of particles were set based on the usage of Styrofoam buoys. Since Styrofoam buoys are highly buoyant, both wind and ocean currents are important factors shaping the trajectories. The beaching patterns of the particles are similar to distribution patterns of the large sized Styrofoam buoys found on coastal areas. As the windage becomes stronger, the number of particles flowing into the East/Japan Sea is decreased while that moving into Yellow Sea and the East China Sea is increased.