We are pleased to announce with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Sea Grant seven recommended marine debris removal projects under the 2024 Community Marine Debris Removal Grant Program. These projects represent an investment of $1.2 million for marine debris removal with funds provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
With an extensive, rugged, and remote coastline, addressing marine debris in Alaska requires creative approaches and access to dedicated technical and financial resources. Island and coastal communities in Alaska are particularly susceptible to marine debris because accumulation along shorelines and in surrounding waters threatens important and productive feeding and breeding areas for marine mammals and seabirds, degrades habitat, and interferes with subsistence, cultural, and commercial resources.
These projects will remove and dispose of marine debris and conduct community-focused education and outreach activities in order to provide tangible benefits to coastal and marine habitats, communities, and economies across Alaska. The projects are:
The City of Chevak (West Alaska, $200,000) will remove marine debris in Chevak washed ashore by Typhoon Merbok in September 2022. The storm caused massive damage to subsistence gear and fish camps, exacerbated riverbank erosion, and washed boats, motors, fishing gear, and pieces of driftwood onto the tundra, leaving marine debris littered across the land surrounding the community. This project will ensure the safety of Chevak residents and protect the local environment that they rely on by hiring local workers to collect and remove this marine debris.
Drifters Fish (South Central Alaska, $199,796) will remove marine debris from the Copper River Delta Barrier Islands through a community effort led by members of Cordova’s coastal fishing fleet. This region is a complex ecosystem that supports a diverse food chain including Sockeye, Chinook, Coho, and Eulachon that provide economic and cultural significance to the commercial and subsistence users of Cordova and upper Copper River Delta communities. Drifters Fish will also work with local and regional partners to raise awareness and communicate about marine debris in the region.
Zender Environmental Health and Research Group (West Alaska, $198,655) will work collaboratively with the community of Kotlik and the Kotlik Tribal Environmental Health Coordinator in support of a community-led marine debris removal effort. The project will clean up marine debris in three high-traffic sites in the community, improve waste management infrastructure, and raise community awareness about the need for proper waste management. Partners will also work with local high school students to bring regional and national awareness about waste management and marine debris challenges and efforts in rural Alaska.
Native Village of Goodnews Bay (Soutwest Alaska, $200,000) will remove marine debris from the beaches and shorelines of Goodnews Bay and the Village of Platinum. Twice a month during summer months, groups will remove debris from both the eastern and western sides of the bay. Community members will organize cleanups and conduct community education efforts to prevent future debris.
Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (Northwest Alaska, $200,000) will work with the communities of Brevig Mission and Wales to remove marine debris on over 25 miles of local shoreline. This project will address historical areas with large amounts of marine debris and hire residents as crew members, conducting pre-season assessments to target in-season removal.
Qagan Tayagungin Tribe of Sand Point (Aleutian Islands, $25,000) will remove marine debris from around Popof Island, as well as remove and recycle used web and line stockpiles at Robert E. Golovin Small Boat Harbor and in the yards of community members. This project builds on efforts by a local environmental youth program that removes marine debris from the spit beach and the harbor area on a weekly basis and will expand the community’s capacity to address marine debris removal needs.
Zachary Foss (Southeast Alaska, $200,000), the captain and owner of the F/V Axel, will organize fellow commercial fishers to remove marine debris from southern Baranof island, Southwest Kuiu Island, Coronation Island, the west coast of Chichagof Island, and other nearby islands. Additionally, this project will build awareness among commercial fishers in southeast Alaska and engage them in reporting marine debris to an online tool to inform future cleanup efforts.
More information is available on the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Sea Grant website.