Great Lakes

Marine debris can be dangerous for wildlife, damage sensitive habitats, and create safety and navigation hazards. But did you know that marine debris can also hurt the economies of coastal communities and decrease commercial fishing revenue? Marine debris can keep tourists away from beaches, compete with active fishing gear and reduce commercial catches, and cost small businesses money.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is excited to announce the winners of the fifth annual Communicating for a Clean Future: Ohio Marine Debris Challenge! This contest is open every year to students in grades 9-12 who are enrolled in recognized public, private, and home schools in Ohio’s Lake Erie coastal communities.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program Great Lakes Region spans eight states from Minnesota to New York, covers the north coast, and forms a water boundary between the United States and our Canadian friends to the North.

Imagine you’ve planned a big trip to the beach with your family and friends, loaded up the car with supplies or jumped on a plane, and traveled to your vacation spot, only to find a beach littered with plastic beverage bottles, stray fishing line, chip bags, cigarette butts, and other debris. Would you stay and play, or be on your way? What if there were no debris, would you be more likely to return in the future? These are the kinds of questions we asked to better understand the relationship between marine debris and the coastal tourism economy.

Lake Erie experienced a drinking water crisis in 2014, as well as ongoing algal blooms, leading to an increased preference for bottled water, and a potential source for marine debris. At Partners for Clean Streams, we are working to help reduce further impacts by taking on marine debris in the freshwater tributaries that lead to Lake Erie. With support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, our Clean Your Streams program allows kids and adults alike to get engaged in marine debris removal.

Although they don’t have salt water, the Great Lakes are vast, and can feel like small oceans. This connected series of lakes, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, are the largest surface freshwater system on earth and account for 21 percent of the world’s supply. They shape the north coast of the United States, bordering eight states and the Canadian province of Ontario, for a total of 10,200 miles of coastline. That surpasses the East Coast of the U.S. (2,069 miles)!