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Dear colleagues,
The Washington Marine Debris Action Plan, finalized in September 2018, has seen much progress, including substantial work on prevention, removal, and research projects, an impressive Spring 2019 update, and an interim Status Report, distributed in July 2019. This update, the second since the Action Plan was posted, is to share recent marine debris accomplishments in Washington, as well as other marine debris issues of interest.
Many thanks to all who contributed to this update.
Nir Barnea NOAA Marine Debris Program, Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator
 Volunteers kayak around Lake Union looking for trash along the shores (Photo: Puget Soundkeeper).
Submitted by: Kristin Holschbach, Puget Soundkeeper
In the last six months, Puget Soundkeeper has supported 60 walking beach cleanups and 33 on-water cleanups. During all these events, we removed around 8,500 lbs of marine debris from the Puget Sound. Puget Soundkeeper also collected 72 mason jar samples of water from Puget Sound that will be used in our community science efforts to look for microplastics. Currently, we are looking into starting sediment analysis in 2020 to further engage the community. During the International Coastal Cleanup this year, Puget Soundkeeper partnered with a research vessel in Anacortes to search around the San Juan Islands looking for marine debris in hard to access places. Over 900 lbs of marine debris was collected during this event.
 COASSTer Dee Ritchie records data on small marine debris at Point No Point Beach (Photo: Eric Wagner).
Submitted by: Hillary Burgess, COASST
We're excited to announce the launch of our new website featuring new tools and resources for program participants. Features we hope partners and participants will take advantage of include an upcoming events calendar, newsletter sign-up, toolbox with new training videos, "find a beach" interactive map showing where debris surveys are currently conducted, and our blog.
We are in the midst of wrapping-up a study, conducted with support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, that will give insight to shoreline debris monitoring efforts, analysis, and date use--we look forward to making those results available soon. Our next training will be Sunday, November 10, 2019 at 10:00 AM in Long Beach at the PUD auditorium.
 AFS-USA group removes 119 lbs of marine debris from Dash Point State Park (Photo: Anna Guthrie & Dana Wu).
Submitted by: Dana Wu, Seattle Aquarium
On Saturday, April 27, 2019, the Seattle Aquarium’s Community Outreach Coordinator Dana Wu led a group of teenage intercultural exchange students with AFS-USA on a beach cleanup at Dash Point State Park. They removed nearly 119 lbs of marine debris consisting of treated lumber, food packaging, cigarette butts, a tire, and large rope. Data cards were also completed and submitted to the Ocean Conservancy for tracking purposes. The group enjoyed learning about the local indigenous Puyallup and Nisqually peoples’ relationship to the land, water, and local flora and fauna, as well as connecting with one another while camping overnight in the park.
 Footage from ROV video feed of juvenile rockfish using derelict shrimp pots as habitat (Photo: NOAA/NMFS PRD & NRC).
Submitted by: Kyle Antonelis, Natural Resources Consultants (NRD)
Project Partners: Jason Morgan – Northwest Straits Foundation (NWSF), Dan Tonnes, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) Protected Resources Division (PRD), Crayton Fenn, Fenn Enterprises
In July and August 2019, we utilized a remote operated vehicle (ROV) to investigate and remove derelict shrimp pots off the Mukilteo and Edmonds shorelines in water depths beyond the maximum diver safety depths of 105 ft. Targets chosen for this project were identified in sidescan sonar surveys in 2012. During ROV operations, 15 derelict shrimp pots, 38 derelict crab pots, and several other debris items were found. Juvenile rockfish were observed on the video feed inside 11 of the derelict shrimp pots, and a total of five live rockfish (3 quillback, 2 copper) were found inside those four shrimp pots upon gear recovery. This project built on past efforts of the NOAA/NMFS Protected Resources Division, NWSF, and NRC to understand and eliminate negative impacts of lost shrimp pots in Puget Sound. The project was funded by NOAA/NMFS Protected Resources Division.
 Army diver enters the water off of San Juan Island Washington to remove derelict nets from deep water habitat (Photo: Greg Sweney/Motofish images).
Submitted by: Joan Drinkwin, Natural Resources Consultants
In the summer of 2019, Natural Resources Consultants and the Washington Department of Natural Resources teamed with the U.S. Army 569th Engineer Dive Detachment to remove derelict fishing nets from Puget Sound deep water habitats. Supported by the Department of Defense Innovative Readiness Training Program, the Army divers removed ten derelict nets from waters below 105 ft. along the steep rocky habitats of the San Juan Islands. These deep water habitats are home to over 90 species of bottomfish, including cod, hake, pollock, sole, sculpin, shark, perch, and rockfish. Two species of rockfish are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The project provided the Army Engineer Dive Detachment a chance to train in the dynamic Puget Sound waters while removing the damaging derelict nets. Removing these nets removed the immediate threat of entanglement to marine species. Plans are underway to repeat the project in 2020.
Derelict crab pots removed (Photo: Quileute Tribe).
Submitted by: Molly Bogeberg, The Nature Conservancy
The Quileute Tribe, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, conducted visual surveys between Cape Alava and the Queets River, from the shore out to 6.5 miles (300 square miles), using a fixed-wing airplane to search for derelict crab pots and pinpoint their location from the air. In total, 70 crab pots were removed. The Quileute also made fishery management program improvements to prevent further loss of fishing pot gear.
 A cleanup registration point (Photo: Roy Morris).
Submitted by: Roy Morris, Lions Club
The Clallam Bay Sekiu Lions work in partnership with CoastSavers to plan multiple cleanups annually. Each location presents individual challenges that need to be worked out event by event. Nimble, flexible players, combined with coordinated planning and de-briefs, are key to getting marine debris off beaches, disposing of it appropriately, and educating communities event by event
 Lead article in Spring Lion Magazine features local Lions working in strong partnerships for global improvement (Photo: Lions Club International).
Submitted by: Dr. Nancy Messmer, Lions Clubs International
Over 1.4 million Lions volunteers throughout the world, in over 200 countries to serve their communities. One of their five service goals is to "Sustainably protect and restore our environment to improve the well-being of all communities." Lions in the Pacific Northwest, working with the Washington Clean Coast Alliance (CoastSavers), are busy growing Lions’ involvement with marine debris issues, including the cleanup and prevention of plastic pollution. Northwest efforts were featured this spring as the cover story in Lion Magazine, and on the Lion Twitter feed and Facebook pages, in an article called "Bigger Than Me." Our efforts grow as workers in the marine debris community expand involvement in each arena. Partnerships are a key element in large-scale change.
 A derelict pot removed (left) and the removal team (right) (Photo: Natural Resources Consultants).
Submitted by: Jason Morgan, Northwest Straits Foundation
In April 2019, we launched the Port Townsend & Dungeness Bay Derelict Crab Pot Removal and Prevention Project. A total of 396 derelict crab pots were removed from Port Townsend and Dungeness Bays, and survey and removal efforts will occur for two more consecutive years, in spring of 2020 and 2021. The Northwest Straits Foundation worked with the Jefferson and Clallam County Marine Resources Committees (MRC) to conduct outreach efforts in their respective counties which included working with local papers for press coverage, holding crabber workshops, and distributing outreach materials at locations frequented by crabbers. This project, supported in part by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, will remove immediate hazards to marine life and evaluate outreach efforts by measuring changes in pot loss over time. A Puget Sound wide outreach campaign, launched in June 2019, includes the promotion of instructional videos and distribution of outreach materials by our partnering MRCs.
 Marine debris monitoring dashboard (Photo: Taylor Shellfish).
Submitted by: Erin Ewald, Taylor Shellfish
Taylor Shellfish is engaged in surveys to locate marine debris and cleanups to remove it. Taylor crews have logged 129 points into the ESRI mobile survey application through 2019, and have submitted another 110 written forms through our monthly training modules, identifying beach cleanup activities. Taylor Shellfish crews collected approximately 10 cubic yards of debris throughout Puget Sound in 2019, in addition to the industry-wide beach cleanup which collects approximately 40 – 60 cubic yards twice a year in South Sound. Taylor Shellfish’s surveys and cleanups contribute to marine debris reduction, and cleaner operations overall.
 Pat Kelley hauling a large piece of old dock that he winched out of the sand (Photo: John Thompson).
Submitted by: James Roubal, CoastSavers
Hundreds of volunteers from the Pacific Northwest 4 Wheel Drive Association (PNW4DA) came out to help Washington CoastSavers clean Long Beach, Ocean Shores, and Westport for their annual Operation Shore Patrol event during this year’s International Coastal Cleanup. At Long Beach alone, volunteers collected over 4,000 lbs of debris along with a couple of large debris items hauled a long way by three Jeepers. Cleaning our coast since 1971, the PNW4DA have been at it longer than anyone. Their Operation Shore Patrol event has become an annual tradition on Washington’s southern beaches. This was the first year the crews collaborated with the alliance of partners behind CoastSavers. We can’t thank them enough for turning out in droves to pick up the heavier debris pieces, and are looking forward to partnering with them again for future cleanups.
 Heidi Eisenhour and Jeff Hogue, from the Northwest Maritime Center (left and right), and Aaron Barnett from Washington Sea Grant—at an industrial waste processing and recycling facility operated by DTG Industries (Photo: WSG).
Submitted by: Aaron Barnett, Washington Sea Grant
Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is investing in a regional solution for derelict and end- of-life fiberglass boat hulls, working from a model developed at Rhode Island Sea Grant. The model depends on collaboration with industries to use ground up fiberglass hulls as fuel for high energy processes like making cement. The remaining ash can then be mixed with cement to complete the recycling process. WSG provided the Northwest Maritime Center with a program development grant to assess the extent of the problem in Puget Sound and determine whether we have the conditions for an economically sustainable program in our region. WSG also brought Evan Ridley, who developed his doctoral dissertation on the topic while working for Rhode Island Sea Grant, to the Northwest to advise the Maritime Center and meet with potential private sector partners.
Submitted by: Nir Barnea, NOAA Marine Debris Program
Annual NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest
The annual MDP Art Contest is now open and accepting entries kindergarten to grade 8. Entries will be accepted until November 30, 2019. Successful entries will be selected for the 2021 marine debris calendar. Visit here for more details.
The Revamped Marine Debris Clearinghouse is Now Available
The NOAA MDP Marine Debris Clearinghouse has been completely revamped. It now has a user friendly graphic interface, the information for all projects has been reviewed and augmented, and the search function is slick and easy. Find more information here, and check out the Clearinghouse here.
The 2019 Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan is Completed
In March 2019, representatives of the Oregon Marine Debris Community convened in Newport, Oregon, for a workshop to review and update the Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan. Finalized in 2017, the Plan called for an update every two years in order to keep it relevant and up-to-date. The 2019 Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan, in addition to revised actions, has a list of accomplishments provided by the partners, a testament to the hard work done in Oregon to reduce marine debris. Stay tuned for a similar update process in Washington State.
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