removal

September kicks off coastal cleanup season and that means it’s time for the 36th annual International Coastal Cleanup! Every year, the Ocean Conservancy brings people together from around the blue globe for this international effort to act locally and clean up marine debris in their communities. The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to have partnered with the Ocean Conservancy and supported the International Coastal Cleanup for 15 years to combat marine debris. On September 18, we look forward to reconnecting with nature and with one another in small groups or pods to collect debris and data.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce our FY 2022 Marine Debris Removal notice of funding opportunity. Projects awarded through the removal grant competition will create long-term, quantifiable ecological habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources, with priority consideration for efforts targeting derelict fishing gear, abandoned and derelict vessels, and other medium- and large-scale debris. Projects should also foster public awareness of the effects of marine debris to further the conservation of living marine resource habitats, and contribute to the understanding of marine debris composition, distribution, and impacts. NOAA will also fund projects in the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada border regions, subject to additional eligibility criteria. 

The Ocean Plastics Recovery Project, in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, will lead a team of scientists, students, artists, and plastics recycling and recovery experts on the first of several marine debris cleanup expeditions to Katmai National Park in Alaska. Collectively, the cleanups, planned for 2021-2022, will be the largest marine debris removal effort in Katmai to date and has the goal to remove over 25 tons of ocean plastics from the marine environment and improve approximately 500 acres of coastal habitat for the salmon, bears, and all wild inhabitants of the 4,000,000-acre park.

The name Alaska comes from the Aleut alaxsxaq meaning “the mainland,” or more specifically “the object towards which the action of the sea is directed.” Alaska’s position relative to ocean, wind, and current patterns combined with the significant and growing amounts of maritime transport and fishing activity in the surrounding waters, means that huge amounts of marine debris are directed onto Alaskan shores every year. Fortunately, there is an active, dedicated, and innovative community of individuals and organizations working on and responding to the issue of marine debris in the state.

For the first time ever, North Carolina is mounting a comprehensive effort to address and remove abandoned and derelict vessels that blight the coast, pose navigational hazards, and degrade important coastal habitats. The North Carolina Coastal Federation is partnering with the NOAA Marine Debris Program and other federal, state, and local partners to take the first important steps to document and remove these vessels.

Summer is almost here, or already here if you live in the Southeast, and that means fun in the sun, ice-cold lemonade, and big hair (thanks a lot, humidity!). With more people out and about, that can also mean more marine debris on our sandy beaches and expansive meandering marshes. Fortunately, our partners in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are tackling the marine debris issue head on through prevention and removal efforts, and we’re excited to highlight some of those efforts this week.