As another year comes to a close, we like to take this time to look back on 2017 and look forward to the year ahead. This year, the NOAA Marine Debris Program saw over 18,300 students involved in marine debris education and outreach and more than 1,600 metric tons of debris removed from our shores! Check out our 2017 Accomplishments Report for more on what we’ve achieved this past year. Looking to 2018, we’re excited for the year ahead and we hope you are too! We resolve to continue our fight against marine debris by working to bring people together from around the world to discuss the issue and learn from each other at the Sixth International Marine Debris Conference. We’re also determined to strengthen our efforts by supporting four projects to research marine debris and 11 to remove it, all of which are in the beginning stages this year. Keep your eye on our blog and website as we work on those resolutions!
What are your resolutions? There are many efforts we can all resolve to make to get our ocean off to a good start in 2018. Be aware of how your actions contribute to marine debris. Reduce, reuse, recycle, and refuse whenever possible. If you’d like to become more active this year, consider getting involved in a cleanup event in your area— it gets you outside, is a good place to meet other like-minded people, and helps keep our ocean clean. Subscribe to our e-newsletter for monthly updates on event locations.
Keep the environment in mind as you ring in 2018 this New Year’s Eve. Let’s work together to make this next year the best it can be for ourselves and the ocean we rely on.
Happy New Year from the NOAA Marine Debris Program
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