While various indicators suggest high input from Asian countries , data to validate such claims are limited. Nevertheless, East Asian seas have been labelled as a "hotspot" for microplastic pollution due to the high concentrations within the region While an increasing number of studies investigate the sources and distribution of microplastics in the marine environment, the problem of "missing" plastics remains. The inputs from various sources do not match the estimates of floating debris found in oceans . Retention of floating debris in coastal areas with recurrent episodes of beaching, submersion, and sinking may account for this missing debris The individual characteristics of particles (e.g., size, density, shape) play an important role in the pathways as denser films and items with a greater surfaceto-volume have a higher chance of being trapped in the coastal zone, becoming beached and fragmenting into smaller fractions before re-entering the marine environment. Colonization by biofilms and marine organism play an important role in the pathway of vertical transport from the surface to sediments. .