Partner Updates
The articles written by partners are not the opinions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and do not imply that NOAA recommends or endorses those expressed by partner organizations. These opinions and their associated actions will be carried out by interested partner organizations and are not affiliated with NOAA or the NOAA Marine Debris Program.
 MidCoast volunteers gather at Knight Park to begin cleanup (Photo Credit: MidCoast Watersheds Council).
Salmon River Cleanup: A Community Effort!
MidCoast Watersheds Council hosted their annual Salmon River Cleanup on September 28th. Supported by the former Salmon Drift Creek Watershed Council and 23 volunteers dedicated to keeping their local waterways free of trash. By the afternoon, volunteers had removed 1,060 lbs of trash from 10 known dump sites along the Salmon river, from the lower estuary to the Van Duzer Forest Corridor. North Lincoln Sanitary Service generously donated disposal services. This year, kayaking volunteers found close to no trash to pick up in the estuary, a great improvement on previous cleanup years. However, nearly half a ton of trash was found upriver near public access points and popular fishing sites, where illegal dumping continues to occur.
Stay informed about future events and learn more about watershed restoration on the Oregon coast by signing up for updates here.
 Filtrol microfiber filtration system for an on-site washing machine (Photo credit: Bri DeLeon).
Oregon Applied Sustainability Experience Marine Debris Internship with Oregon Coast Aquarium
The Oregon Coast Aquarium (OCAq) partnered with OASE to host a marine plastic pollution internship this past summer. OASE, or Oregon Applied Sustainability Experience, was supported in part by funding from a NOAA Sea Grant Marine Debris Community Coalition grant awarded to Oregon Sea Grant in 2024. This award helped two interns, including Bri DeLeon, who interned with OCAq.
During her summer at OCAq, Bri worked on plastic reduction schemes within their operations. Her main project centered on microfiber pollution prevention through washing machine filtration systems. Additionally, she worked on switching to reusable serving ware in the cafe and coffee shop, and explored alternative nitrile glove options for staff. With her recommendations, the Aquarium is estimated to reduce over 2.2 tons of plastic waste annually.
Read more about the OASE Program on their website.
 NOAA Marine Debris Program Updates
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The NOAA Marine Debris Program Awards 13 New Projects for Funding to Remove Marine Debris Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
After a highly competitive review process, the NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce 13 new projects awarded funding under our NOAA Marine Debris Removal and Interception Technologies grant awards for Fiscal Year 2024. These projects represent an investment of over $23 million in federal funding for marine debris removal. The awarded projects under the two separate nationwide competitive funding opportunities continue the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s commitment to make tangible, beneficial impacts to coastal and marine habitats and communities across the nation.
In Washington, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources will remove abandoned and derelict vessels from South Puget Sound on tidelands owned by the Squaxin Island Tribe to address pollution in a critically important cultural, recreation, and subsistence location. The project will also hold six vessel turn-in events throughout Western Washington to intercept vessels before they become derelict or abandoned.
For more information on these new projects, visit the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s website.
(Photo Credit: Ocean Conservancy).
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Special Funding Opportunity: Fiscal Year 2025 Ocean Odyssey Marine Debris Prevention Awards for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility
The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, is seeking grant applications for 10-15 projects focused on marine debris prevention, education, and outreach activities. Individual awards will range between $5,000 and $10,000 to support communities that are underserved, underrepresented, or overburdened by marine debris and to promote initiatives that prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris across the coastal United States, Great Lakes, territories, and Freely Associated States.
Full proposals are due on November 20, 2024 by 11:59 ET.
Learn more here.
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Now Open! NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest
Get your art supplies ready, because this year’s NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest is officially open! Students in grades K-8 can submit their artwork (electronically or by mail) through December 13th that answers the questions:
How does marine debris impact the oceans and Great Lakes?What are you doing to help prevent marine debris?
Contest winners will be featured in a 2026 calendar! Visit our website to check out last year's winners and download the contest entry form (also available in Spanish) and flyer.
(Photo: Artwork by Sahini K., Grade 6, Florida).
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New Blog Post: Innerspace Exploration Leads Community Efforts to Clean Up Derelict Crab Pots
Dungeness Crab are an essential asset to the North Olympic Peninsula, ecologically, economically, and culturally. A side-effect of the beloved fishery is gear loss and bycatch, in Washington State an estimated 120,000 crab pots are deployed annually and there is an estimated gear loss of 10%. These lost crab pots are responsible for unnecessary crab mortality, habitat damage, and entanglement and mortality of marine mammals and other important species. Innerspace Exploration worked with a number of other partners to remove derelict crab pots from both Discovery and Sequim Bays in Washington.
Read the full post on NOAA's Marine Debris Blog.
(Photo Credit: Innerspace Exploration).
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NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project Nationwide Survey Funded Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce the launch of the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project Nationwide Survey. This one-year survey will be conducted in partnership with 1stMission LLC and represents an investment of over $3.3 million in federal funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It will establish a scientifically valid baseline assessment of marine debris found on U.S. shorelines, including the continental U.S., Caribbean, Alaska, Pacific Islands, and Great Lakes, as well as a longer-term vision for documenting trends.
For more information, please visit the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s website.
(Photo Credit: NOAA).
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NOAA Ocean Podcast: Marine Debris - Talking Trash
Marine debris is a large and global problem. Plastics, metals, rubber, fishing gear, and other lost and discarded items enter our ocean, Great Lakes, waterways, and coastal areas every day. This challenging issue can cause negative impacts to wildlife, the environment, and the economy. In this episode, the NOAA Ocean Podcast chats with Sophie Maginnes, communication specialist with the NOAA Marine Debris Program.
Listen now.
(Photo Credit: NOAA).
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Request for Feedback: BoatUS Foundation Abandoned and Derelict Vessel Database
With support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, the BoatUS Foundation is soliciting feedback to aid the planning and development of a nationwide abandoned and derelict vessel (ADV) database.
Agencies who currently report or collect ADV data, those in government, the maritime industry, law enforcement, organizations such as environmental or boating groups, in addition to anyone interested in improving the environment by removing ADVs are asked to share anonymous feedback here.
Deadline: December 17, 2024.
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Tropical Islands Partnering on Solutions for Marine Debris (TIPS)
Join us for our next webinar, "From Gear to Ghost: Reeling in the Problem" on December 10, 2024 at 12:00 PM PT. Speakers from Florida, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands will discuss their work on mitigating abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear.
Register here.
If you’re interested in learning more about TIPS or watching past webinars, you can visit our website or subscribe to our newsletter.
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