NOAA Marine Debris Program e-Newsletter | October 2019

Many pieces of small debris cover a rocky and sandy beach.

Microplastics come in a variety of shapes and sizes (Photo: NOAA).

In This Issue

Prevention Federal Funding Opportunity Opens
Estimating the Effects of Marine Debris on Coastal Economies

NOAA Partner Announces Grant Awards for Fishing Gear Removal and Research

The Lowcountry Cleans Up Marine Debris after Hurricane Irma

Annual Art Competition Opens Soon!

Updated Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan Released

Quick Links

Marine Debris Website
Marine Debris Blog
MDMAP Toolbox
ADV InfoHub
Clearinghouse

Marine Debris Tracker Mobile Application

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Make a difference by using the Marine Debris Tracker app to record debris items you find.

Upcoming Cleanups

October 5
Volunteer Cleanup
Crandon Beach Park
Miami, FL

October 5
Potomac Conservancy

Brighton Recreation Area
Washington D.C.

October 5
Keep Massachusetts Beautiful Smith Beach
Braintree, MA

October 9
Alliance for the Great Lakes

12th Street Beach 
Chicago, IL

October 12
808 Cleanups
Fort Hase Beach
Kailua, HI

October 13
Save The Bay
McCorrie Point
Portsmouth, RI

October 19
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Erie County
Erie, PA

October 19
Annual Mississippi Coastal Clean-up
Multiple locations: Jackson, Harrison, or Hancock County
Coastal MS

October 19
Heal the Bay
Santa Monica Beach
Santa Monica, CA

October 19
Surfrider Foundation
Smartmouth Pilot House
Virginia Beach, VA

October 23
Puget SoundKeepers Alliance: Lake Union Kayak Patrol
Northwest Outdoor Center
Seattle, WA

October 23
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Pier 1 Beach
Brooklyn, NY

October 24
808 Cleanups
Pau Hana Cleanup
Ala Wai Boat Harbor
Honolulu, HI

October 27
Tybee Clean Beach Marine Science Center
Tybee Island, GA

October 30
Puget SoundKeepers Alliance: Lake Union Kayak Patrol
Northwest Outdoor Center
Seattle, WA

Can't make it to a listed cleanup? Organize your own and use the Marine Debris Tracker!

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Website & Blog

Prevention Federal Funding Opportunity

Many students hold up their hands during a plastic summit.

Submit your Letter of Intent for the Marine Debris Prevention opportunity (Photo: Monterey Bay Aquarium).

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce our FY 2020 “Marine Debris Prevention” federal funding opportunity. 

This opportunity provides funding for projects that actively engage and educate a target audience (such as students, teachers, industries, or the public) in hands-on programs designed to raise awareness, provide practical approaches, reduce barriers, and encourage and support changes in behaviors to ensure long-term prevention of marine debris.

The Letter of Intent (LOI) submission period for prevention projects will extend from September 17 to November 5, 2019. Applicants who submit successful LOIs will be invited to submit a full proposal following the LOI review period.

Learn More


Estimating the Effects of Marine Debris on Coastal Economies

Several people lay on a beach in Delaware.

Beaches in Delaware and Maryland were included in a study analyzing the econmic impact of marine debris on tourism-dependent communities (Photo: NOAA).

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. 

Learn More


NOAA Partner Announces Grant Awards for Fishing Gear Removal and Research

A person loads a old fishing gear into a large, metal bin.

Collection bins like this one make sure that tons of nets stay out of the ocean (Photo: NFWF).

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), a NOAA Marine Debris Program partner, the announced ten grants totaling $1,157,788 that will support the removal and disposal of an estimated 330,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear. Derelict fishing gear is defined as fishing gear that is lost, abandoned, or otherwise discarded in the marine environment. This year’s grantees will remove gear from the coastal waters of California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington – including two National Marine Sanctuaries. 

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The Lowcountry Cleans Up Marine Debris after Hurricane Irma

A sailboat on its side on top of a barge in the water.

Salmons Dredging Corporation (general contractor) employees oversee lowering of a derelict vessel onto a barge in Charleston Harbor (Photo NOAA).

The 2017 hurricane season was one of the most active with 17 named storms; 10 of those became major hurricanes. Three devastating hurricanes made landfall, one of which was Hurricane Irma. Irma was the strongest hurricane ever observed in the open Atlantic Ocean and caused widespread devastation in the Caribbean, Florida, and the Southeastern United States, including South Carolina. As a result, Hurricane Irma ranked in the top five costliest hurricanes in U.S. history at $50 billion.

Learn More


Annual Art Competition Opens Soon!

A drawing of an octopus holding up a plastic bag that says "thank you" six times on the bag.

Students, get ready to create some art (Photo: Ava E. 6th grade, California).

The Art Competitions opens on October 15, 2019 through November 30, 2019. Help the NOAA Marine Debris Program raise awareness about marine debris! 

Learn More


Updated Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan Released

Several people smile for a picture while standing under a hanging whale skeleton.

Workshop attendees at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon (Photo: NOAA).

The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) is pleased to share the biennial update to the 2017-2023 Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan (Action Plan). This document is the result of a collaborative effort between the MDP and regional partners, including representatives from governments, tribes, non-profits, academia, and the private sector. It includes partners’ shared goals, strategies to achieve those goals, and corresponding actions to reduce marine debris in Oregon.

Learn More