outreach

Earth Day is a great time to celebrate our ocean, waterways, and Great Lakes, and all of the wonderful things they have to offer. This year, we are showing our appreciation for our favorite places on Earth by announcing the winners of the Annual NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest!

The Pacific Ocean bonds and connects many islands and people throughout the region. These communities share in the art and science of traditional navigation, which has fostered an intimate attachment to the ocean over many generations. Today, these island communities also share in the struggle of mitigating marine debris as they work to protect the ocean.

Did you know that the Marine Debris Tracker App recently logged 2 million pieces of litter and debris from all over the world? This app has been around since 2010 as a joint initiative between the NOAA Marine Debris Program and the Southeast Atlantic Marine Debris Initiative (SEA-MDI).

 By: Nir Barnea, Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program

The first thing you see as you approach the Washed Ashore gallery in Bandon, Oregon, is a creation of plastic pieces and nets: Henry the Fish. When you enter the gallery and look up, an ocean gyre is above you. It is made of a bluish fishing net, and plastic pieces of different shapes and colors “float” within it. A whale bone structure made of white plastic containers is in the center. Although they are colorful, nothing is painted: there is plenty of marine debris in all shapes and colors available to give the sculptures any color in the rainbow, highlighting the message that marine debris is a prevalent problem we must address.