The so-called marine litter, and in particular microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), are ubiquitously distributed and recognised as an emerging risk for the environment and human health. It is known that marine environments are one of the most impacted areas and among them; coastal zones are the most contaminated ones. They are subjected to population pressure, tourism, harbours, desalination plants, marine traffic and fish farms.

This review is focused on the Mediterranean Sea, currently considered one hot spot of microplastics pollution in the world, as a consequence of the high number of plastic marine litter generating activities and its characteristic morphology of semi-enclosed sea. MPs and NPs have been detected not only in surface water and water columns but also in sediments, deep seafloor, and biota including fish and seafood for human consumption. Because of this, different European legislation initiatives have been launched during the last years in order to prevent MPs and NPs contamination and to face derived problems. Finally, this review summarises the main problems and shortcomings associated to MPs and NPs analyses such as their identification and quantification or the necessity of standardised protocols.

所谓的海洋垃圾，特别是微塑料（MPs）和纳米塑料（NPs），无处不在，被认为是对环境和人类健康的新兴风险。众所周知，海洋环境是其中受影响最严重的地区之一。沿海地区是受污染最严重的地区。他们遭受人口压力，旅游业，港口，海水淡化厂，海上交通和养鱼场的压力。

这次审查的重点是地中海，由于海洋塑料垃圾的大量产生及其半封闭海的特征形态，目前被认为是世界上微塑料污染的热点之一。不仅在地表水和水柱中，而且在沉积物，深海底以及包括人类食用的鱼类和海鲜在内的生物群中都检测到了MP和NP。因此，在过去的几年中，欧洲采取了不同的立法举措，以防止MP和NP受到污染并面临衍生问题。最后，本综述总结了与MPs和NPs分析有关的主要问题和不足，例如它们的鉴定和量化或标准化协议的必要性。