Southeast

The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) is proud to announce the release of the new Incident Waterway Debris Response document for North Carolina. This guide takes existing roles and authorities, as they relate to response to an incident that generates large amounts of debris in coastal waterways, and presents them in one guidance document for easy reference. By collaborating with local, state, and federal entities active in the region, this guide aims to facilitate a more timely and effective response to waterway debris incidents in North Carolina.

What do microplastics, nesting sea turtles, derelict crab trap floats, local fishermen, and whale guts have in common? They’re all part of some of the exciting projects going on in the Southeast region to fight marine debris! There’s lots going on in the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Southeast region right now, check out a quick glimpse at some of these projects supported by the MDP:

Starting down in Florida, Sea Grant is creating a network of citizen scientists to test water samples for microplastics and using that information to educate Floridians about plastic debris. 

By: Sarah Latshaw, Southeast Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program

Charleston Harbor just got a facelift, with 10 abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) removed from its waterways and shoreline earlier this month. After being abandoned by their owners, many of these boats had been stuck for years, slowly deteriorating in the marsh, because of a lack of funding for removal and salvage efforts. Some of these ADVs were environmental concerns, causing damage to the shoreline and grasses or becoming dumping sites for other boaters’ trash; others posed a threat to navigation, and most were eyesores for this charming, historic city.