By: Asma Mahdi, Outreach and Communications Specialist
A dock that washed away during the March 2011 tsunami that struck Japan lands on the Oregon Coastline. Credit: Oregon Parks and Recreation
Several docks ripped away from the Port of Misawa in Japan during the March 2011 tsunami. One washed up on Oregon’s coast last summer, and a second beached along Washington’s coastline in December. Two identical debris pieces that left Japan’s coast at the same time made the journey across the Pacific, but they ended up on the U.S. West Coast six months apart and in very different locations. How can we predict where marine debris will end up?
In National Ocean Service’s “Diving Deeper” podcast, “Marine Debris: Where is it going?”, Sherry Lippiatt, NOAA Marine Debris Program’s California Regional Coordinator, talks through the challenges in predicting marine debris movement in the ever-changing ocean environment. She explains that weathering, debris type, and other factors play a role in how debris moves. Taking these and other factors into account, NOAA scientists can model debris movement, but ultimately the path of a given piece of debris can vary drastically just with changing wind or wave action.
By: Nir Barnea, Washington and Oregon Marine Debris Regional Coordinator
Marine debris, the perennial, insidious, problem that affects oceans and coasts worldwide, has been impacting US beaches for many years. After the massive tsunami struck the north eastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, inflicting tragic loss of human life and massive damage, a variety of items washed out to sea as the water receded. Some debris remained floating, drifting long distances by ocean currents and winds. This influx of marine debris, adding to an already existing problem, has attracted media attention as well as volunteers, who selflessly dedicate their time and energy to clean the beaches they love, picking up and recycling or disposing of plastic bottles and Styrofoam, fishing lines and floats, packaging of all sort, and other type of debris. Their work is both welcome and appreciated. It is thanks to the thousands of volunteers that marine debris along the US coastline is removed.
But, how can you tell what debris is safe to clean up? Among the thousands of debris items that wash ashore everyday, some can be hazardous.
An obvious example is large oil drums. They can contain flammable or toxic material, should be left alone, not handled or removed, and reported to proper authorities right away. However, less obvious items, such as plastic boxes or bags withunusual symbols should be handled similarly. Medical waste, for instance, can come in small boxes or packages– a fine looking glass jar may contain toxic material– and explosive devices may come in different shape and packaging. Often (but not always) hazardous materials are labeled.
Watch out for these specific hazard symbols and labels:
Look for the hazard symbols and labels, and don’t touch any item that displays these or similar labels.
Don’t pick up or handle any item that you are not sure about.
Don’t open bottles, jars, and boxes that could contain hazardous material.
Mark the location, warn others, take photos, and call proper authorities, providing exact location description and photos.
The bottom line– Do your part and clean up the beach from marine debris, but be smart and aware of hazardous debris. No debris is worth getting hurt over.
By: Asma Mahdi, Outreach and Communications Specialist, NOAA Marine Debris Program
Marine debris is an everyday problem around the world—but you can make a global impact locally.
With support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, Ocean Conservancy has launched “Keep the Coast Clear,” an online platform dedicated to community involvement, sharing ideas and delivering quick tips on how to reduce and prevent marine debris.
So, the next time you are online, do your part and organize a cleanup, check out your trash impact, cause a Rippl effect and learn how to be more sustainable in just one minute with just one click: www.keepthecoastclear.org.
UPDATE: The U.S. Coast Guard located the dock after an extensive aerial search. The dock is grounded in remote section of coast in the Olympic National Park, and officials are working on getting there in order to assess it.
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Federal, state, and local officials are working to locate a large dock reportedly floating off the coast of Washington. The dock, similar in appearance to one that washed ashore in Oregon last June, has not been seen since it was initially reported by fishermen last Friday. The structure is suspected to be debris from the March 2011 tsunami in Japan:
“On Friday evening, fishermen aboard Fishing Vessel Lady Nancy reported a large object floating off the coast of Washington state, approximately 16 nautical miles northwest of the Grays Harbor entrance. NOAA is working to determine the object’s trajectory based on the reported location.
Washington State Emergency Management Division is coordinating the state efforts to address this object. Following its Marine Debris Response Plan, the state identified resources and brought in partners to prepare for the response. The state contacted federal and tribal partners to review the planned response. As needed, the Quinault Indian Nation will work with the state in response efforts, as will NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Olympic National Park, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Since Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard has continuously broadcasted a Safety Marine Information Broadcast alerting mariners of this floating debris. Sector Columbia River/Air Station Astoria, Ore., conducted five searches for this floating debris, with an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, searching a combined area of 317 square miles. The Coast Guard will continue to work with NOAA, Washington state agencies and the Quinault Indian Nation to track this floating debris.”
Anyone sighting this object or other significant debris that may be from the tsunami is asked to contact local authorities and report it to DisasterDebris@noaa.gov.
A large structure is spotted off the coast of Washington. Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River.
I work on marine mammal conservation with NOAA Fisheries in the Pacific Northwest and have seen firsthand how marine debris can affect marine life.
As part of the stranding Northwest Region Marine Mammal Stranding Network, I help respond to beached, distressed and entangled animals. Part of my job also entails responding to deceased marine mammals, sometimes found wrapped in fishing nets. Our team conducts thorough investigations to identify what human activities are impacting various populations. One human impact is marine debris.
We have seen a number of animals entangled in fishing gear and discovered a few who have ingested marine debris. In some instances, we can quickly release animals from fishing gear entanglement; however, some animals are brought to a rehabilitation facility to recover from their injuries before being released back into the wild. We investigate every case to identify what marine debris the animals are interacting with and ingesting to help inform prevention and stewardship activities.
Stranding network members investigate the death of gray whale in WA in 2010. Photo by: Jessie Huggins, Cascadia Research Collective
In 2010 several local stranding groups responded to a 39-foot dead gray whale in West Seattle, WA. During the necropsy, we discovered a variety of foreign materials in the whale’s stomach. Duct tape, plastic bags, rope, fishing line, towels, sweatpants, and even a golf ball made up the several pounds of marine debris the whale had ingested. The local community connected with the story of this whale that was feeding in Puget Sound and then stranded on a local beach with a stomach full of garbage. This gray whale became the inspiration for an outreach exhibit and activities to educate the public about how marine debris can harm marine mammals.
Marine debris found in the stomach of stranded gray whale. Photo by: Jessie Huggins, Cascadia Research Collective
NOAA Fisheries and our partners spread the word about what every person can do to keep trash out of our waters, such as bringing your own bag to the grocery store or participating in local beach cleanups. Every little bit counts, and will help keep trash from entering our oceans and protecting our marine wildlife. For more information about the Northwest Region Marine Mammal Stranding Network, check us out online at: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Marine-Mammals/Stranding-Information.cfm.
Can you picture a place untouched by man? I picture a place with pristine beaches and bright blue water lapping at the shore. I believed Midway Atoll, a tiny island that is part of the Paphānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, to be one of those places.
I was fortunate enough to get the chance to go to Midway as part of a conservation biology course offered at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. I was working towards my master’s in coastal environmental management and knew I would never get this opportunity again.
Midway is truly inspiring—a special place that I feel honored to have experienced. But, there are aspects of Midway that chill me to the core. Like me, when most people think of Midway, they think of an island in the middle of the ocean untouched by man, but that is far from true.
Albatross nest on the sand inches away from marine debris (to the right). Photo Credit: Danielle Crain
Marine debris litters the beach and stacks high on the island’s unused airplane hangar. New debris washes up daily, ranging in form from tennis ball sized fishing floats up to boats. Lighters and bottle caps litter the area around the albatross nests – a clear sign the birds mistakenly brought plastic back to feed their young. For a place so special and distant from civilization, Midway is struggling to keep up with all the debris.
The people working on the island told us stories of birds dying from all the plastic they ate, of chicks never reaching adulthood because parents didn’t realize the bright bits of plastic were not fish, of seals swimming hopelessly tangled in fishing line, of debris piling so high they can’t possibly clean it all up.
While on the island, my class and I helped to clean up some of Midway. We hauled away three truckloads of marine debris within only a mile and a half of beach. We found glass bottles, laundry baskets, more lighters than we could count, fishing nets – one so large it took five of us to pull out from under the sand – shoes, and countless other items that you never would have guessed would end up on a beach in the middle of the Pacific.
My experience at Midway showed me that even the most remote location can be affected by humans. I think about Midway every day. It changed my life, and it taught me to never take lightly what I throw away because it might end up in some of the last pristine places on earth.
Editor’s note: Caitlyn Zimmerman holds a master’s in coastal environmental management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment with a focus in science communication. She is currently an Outreach Specialist at NOAA’s Coastal Services Center. For more information, contact Caitlyn at Caitlyn.Zim@gmail.com.
The HMS Bounty featured in Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest as the Edinburgh Trader at the Tall Ships Challenge in Savannah, GA.
By: Asma Mahdi, Outreach and Communications Specialist, NOAA Marine Debris Program
Last weekend at the Tall Ships Challenge in Savannah, GA, I had the opportunity to climb aboard the HMS Bounty, also known as the Edinburgh Trader from Disney’s famed, action-packed blockbuster series Pirates of the Caribbean. You may better remember it as the first ship from Dead Man’s Chest where Captain Davey Jones summoned the Kraken, the legendary sea giant, to destroy and sink the Edinburgh Trader, a merchant vessel Captained by Bellamy. Okay, I’ll admit to having watched every Pirates of the Caribbean installment and even having shamelessly stood in line on opening nights. Summon the Kraken!
The Tall Ships Challenge took place over four days at the Savannah Riverfront. Thousands of people had a chance to board fourteen sailing vessels from around the world, interact with crew members and experience, for a moment, life aboard ship.
While touring some of the historical ships, I realized that sometimes we forget that abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) are marine debris. Coastal regions with active boating communities, like Florida, Washington and Georgia, are more likely to see this type of debris first hand. These vessels can threaten the marine environment by damaging sensitive marine habitats such as coral reefs and harming marine life. If they lie within a navigational path, abandoned vessels can also pose a threat to other ships.
Why are vessels abandoned in the first place? There are several reasons ranging from natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, which often plague the southeast, to a lack of upkeep and maintenance. In 2009, New York Times columnist David Streitfeld explained how the economy has left some boat owners with no choice other than to “abandon ship”—turning ports and marinas into default “dumping grounds.”
With increasing public concern, the MDP coordinated the first state-level workshop on ADVs to discuss challenges and successes in addressing this issue. Federal agencies, states, and territories participated, including the host state of the Tall Ships Challenge, Georgia.
Abandoned ship on the coast of American Samoa.
The MDP continues to partner with other stakeholders on the strategic outputs from the workshop, with a particular focus on ADV legislation and the development, population, and maintenance of an ADV database—Georgia is an important contributor to this specific discussion.
Being down in Savannah and seeing the tall ships reminded me that maritime culture is one to be celebrated, not one we should “abandon.” Today’s abandoned vessels are not the result of encounters with mythical sea beasts, as was the fate of the Edinburgh Trader. Abandoned vessels are a detrimental form of debris, and we must all work together to keep our seas free of all types of debris!
SEA-MDI has initially launched a Mobile Application, Marine Debris Tracker. The app is available on the Android Market online here. Or simply search for “marine debris” in the Market from your phone and download it directly to your phone.
For an explanation on how to use the app, go to the Marine Debris Tracker website here.
Briefly, the Marine Debris Tracker mobile application allows you to help make a difference by checking in when you find trash on our coastlines and waterways. You can easily track and log marine debris items from a list of common debris items found on the beach or in the water. The app records the debris location through GPS, and you can view the data on your phone and submit to the Marine Debris Tracker Website for viewing and download later (requires registration, which you can do from the app). Your username is shown on the website for only the most recent 5 items tracked, but GPS coordinates are not shown. All downloadable and mapped data with GPS coordinates is shown anonymously to the public. More information available on the website under “How Do I Start Tracking?” Marine Debris Tracker is a joint effort of the NOAA Marine Debris Division and the Southeast Atlantic Marine Debris Initiative (SEA-MDI) out of the University of Georgia Faculty of Engineering.
One of the developers, Jenna Jambeck, Faculty of Engineering, University of Georgia, said, “Marine debris has been, and continues to be, a persistent and pervasive pollution source. Marine Debris Trackerallows for really fast and efficient data collection, which is critical to designing plans to prevent marine debris. Another part of the solution is to get people to even notice (and then pick up) debris. This app is one way we are trying to reach people to have them take notice and then help mitigate the issue… and if you are noticing trash, you are also much less likely to litter (although debris comes from other sources too). While this app collects data (which people can use in various ways to assess the issue), one of the primary goals is to get the app out to educate as much of the public, in a culturally relevant way, about marine debris and its harmful impacts.”
Check out this cool new app or the other great work SEA-MDI is doing on marine debris with support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program!
Google has partnered with NOAA to offer a visual tour of marine debris around the world available on the Google Earth Blog. The timing couldn’t be more perfect in light of the 5th International Marine Debris Conference taking place in Honolulu, HI this week.
Marine debris is everyone’s problem and Google now offers stakeholders from around the world an opportunity to see some of the major problems our oceans face, as wells the main sources of marine debris around the world.
To learn more about marine debris link to this blog, visit our website or follow us on Facebook/NOAAmarinedebris.
In recognition of the global problem of marine debris as well as the 5th International Marine Debris Conference, Governor Neil Abercrombie and Lt. Governor Brian Schatz of the State of Hawai‘i have proclaimed the week of March 20-26, 2011 as “Marine Debris Awareness Week.”
– Carey
Proclamation
Presented to
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
WHEREAS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (‘NOAA’) is a national agency with roots dating to 1807 that is dedicated to informing citizens about the changing environment around them; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations Environment Programme (‘UNEP’) is the voice for the environment in the United Nations system and encourages partnership in caring for the environment and improving peoples’ quality of life without compromising that of future generations; and
WHEREAS, NOAA has joined with UNEP to organize the Fifth International Marine Debris Conference, which will take place in Honolulu from March 20 – 25, 2011; and
WHEREAS, the increasing amount of pollution and debris in our oceans and seas has been recognized by both organizations as well as numerous scientific bodies as deleterious to our marine ecosystems and ultimately detrimental to our own well-being and quality of life; and
WHEREAS, this event is the first of its kind to take place in over a decade and is intended to raise public awareness, forge new partnerships, and inspire action to bring about a world free of the impacts of marine debris;
THEREFORE I, NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Governor, and I, BRIAN SCHATZ, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, do hereby proclaim March 20-26, 2011 as
“MARINE DEBRIS AWARENESS WEEK”
in Hawai‘i, to raise public awareness about this important issue and to encourage further research as well as individual actions to reduce waste that pollutes our oceans.
DONE at the State Capitol, in the Executive Chambers, Honolulu, State of Hawai‘i, this twenty-second day of February 2011.
NEIL ABERCROMBlE BRIAN SCHATZ
Governor, State of Hawai‘i Lt. Governor, State of Hawai‘i
