The South China Sea (SCS) is recognised as a global hotspot for plastic pollution. We review available field studies and identify a significant lack of data needed to construct a simple mass balance box model for plastic pollution in the SCS. Fundamental information on plastic mass input, transfer and sink terms are simply not available. Also unknown are the rates of accumulation in different environments, the dispersal pathways of plastic particles of different density, the residence times of plastic in the water column and the rate at which macroplastics are transformed into microplastics in different environments. Filling these information gaps is critical for states to determine adequate response measures, including developing and tracking impact of policies to deal with the problem of plastic pollution in the SCS.

南海 (SCS) 被公认为全球塑料污染热点。我们回顾了现有的实地研究，并发现在 SCS 中构建一个简单的塑料污染质量平衡箱模型所需的数据严重缺乏。根本无法获得关于塑性质量输入、转移和汇项的基本信息。同样未知的是在不同环境中的积累速率、不同密度塑料颗粒的扩散途径、塑料在水柱中的停留时间以及大塑料在不同环境中转化为微塑料的速率。填补这些信息空白对于各州确定适当的应对措施至关重要，包括制定和跟踪应对南海塑料污染问题的政策的影响。