The former Abandoned and Derelict Vessel, Carlyle III, removed in 2020 from Newport, Oregon as part of a removal grant project by the Oregon State Marine Board and funded in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program (Photo Credit: Oregon State Marine Board).

Partner Updates

Marine Debris collage created by students from Toledo and Waldport Schools (Photo Credit: Jesse Jones).

Creativity and Conservation in Oregon

Schools and Critical Habitat Areas

Oregon Shores, in partnership with marine debris artist Elizabeth Roberts, completed a second successful year working with the Forest Service to bring volunteers out to remote snowy plover habitat areas to remove marine debris after the 2024 king tides. Three site visits over three days resulted in over 1500 pounds of debris removed from these critical habitat areas. In addition to the cleanup effort, they also returned to Oregon schools to bring their Art & Ecology Workshops to K-6 students. Workshops included a collaborative art project, a marine debris game demonstrating the connection between marine debris, king tides and impacts to plover habitat, and a station where students wrote about what they learned while brainstorming solutions. Due to its continued success, there are double the number of volunteers scheduled for 2025.

A partially sunken 42’ Chris Craft Cabin Cruiser (Photo Credit: Oregon State Marine Board).

Oregon State Marine Board Removes
Abandoned Derelict Vessels (ADVs)

The Oregon State Legislature directed $1 million of America Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB) to remove ADVs on the Willamette River in the Portland Metro area. OSMB removed 25 ADVs in 2022, and 19 in 2023. OSMB was able to remove an additional 44 in 2024. OSMB partnered with the Oregon Department of State Lands to stretch the remaining balance of ARPA funds to remove eight problematic ADVs in the Multnomah Channel. A grand total of 88 ADVs were removed using ARPA funds.

Learn more on the OSMB Abandoned and Derelict Vessels Blog.

Polystyrene dock debris from an oyster farm, found in Half Way Park (Yaquina Bay) during a Surfrider Foundation volunteer cleanup, contained invasive isopods burrowing into the foam (Photo Credit: Charles Mitchell, Surfrider Foundation volunteer).

Foam Fighters: Fellowship Project
Addresses Aquaculture Marine Debris

As part of the Oregon Sea Grant Natural Resource Policy Fellowship Program, Sarah Wolf is working with the Surfrider Foundation to reduce aquaculture marine debris, with an emphasis on polystyrene foam docks. The project focuses on these key priorities:

• Exploring best management practices and strategies to reduce plastic use in oyster farming operations.
• Assessing how agencies enforce Oregon’s polystyrene foam encapsulation requirements.
• Hosting a “Foam Fighters” volunteer cleanup series in Yaquina Bay to target foam dock debris.
• Raising awareness of the risks of polystyrene use in aquatic environments.

To learn more about the project or become a “Foam Fighter” cleanup volunteer, visit the Aquaculture Marine Debris Reduction Project webpage.

A rainbow arrangement of debris collected over one week on the beach near the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (Photo Credit: Jackie Lindsey).

Closing the COASST Marine Debris Module

COASST received funding to develop a marine debris survey module in 2014, and over the last decade hundreds of citizen scientists have collected detailed data on over 36,000 items across 4,600 surveys, with findings published in two research journals. This year, we have made the difficult decision to suspend data collection for the COASST debris module. Though no new data will be collected, we are committed to archiving our dataset in a publicly accessible location (NCEI), and finishing the analyses that we have in prep. Those interested in using the existing COASST dataset should reach out to coasst@uw.edu. We will make sure we post links to our archived dataset online at http://coasst.org as soon as they are available. Thank you for including us in this community!

NOAA Marine Debris Program Updates

First Round of Projects Announced Under the Nationwide TRAP Program We are pleased to announce with the William and Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science 11 new marine debris removal projects under the Nationwide Fishing Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program. These projects represent an investment of $1.4 million to clean our nation's waterways with funds provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These new projects will remove derelict fishing traps from coastal waterways to support fishing communities and economies while collecting data to prevent future gear loss. Learn more.  (Photo Credit: Center for Coastal Resources Management).

Funding Opportunity: US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia The US EPA's SWIFR grants will award $20 million to federally recognized tribes and intertribal consortia to implement the building of circular economy for all strategy series, improve local municipal recycling and other post-consumer materials management programs, and make improvements to local waste management systems. Learn more. Deadline: March 14, 2025, 11:59 PM ET

NOAA Marine Debris Program Announces SciScoop Newsletter Looking to keep up with research activities of the Marine Debris Program? The NOAA MDP Science Team has just launched their newsletter, SciScoop, which will feature team activities and highlights including final results from Marine Debris Program-funded research and recent publications, as well as our team’s involvement in various workshops and conferences throughout the year. Click here to get the scoop!

Conference: Turning the Tide Virtual Summit (February 25-27) Turning the Tide Online will be a three-day virtual summit centered on exploring existing and emerging technologies and best practices for responsible and sustainable disposal of boating-related waste streams presented by the BoatUS Foundation. Learn more about the event and register here.

New U.S. EPA Escaped Trash Risk Map The U.S. EPA’s Trash Free Waters program recently unveiled the new Escaped Trash Risk Map developed in collaboration with the University of Georgia and the Sea Education Association. It displays a modeled estimate of escaped trash density across the United States. “Escaped Trash” refers to waste materials that leak out from waste management systems. This could be through spillage from non-secured containers, intentional littering, or other means. This map is designed to help local governments and communities identify high-density escaped trash areas so they can evaluate impacts and do something about them. Learn more.

2025 NOAA Marine Debris Program Calendars Now Available for Download The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce that our 2025 Marine Debris Calendar is now available for download! Our annual art contest aims to get students thinking about how marine debris impacts our ocean and Great Lakes, and what they can do to help. This year’s calendar features artwork from 13 students in kindergarten through eighth grade from eight states and two U.S. territories, all winners of the “Keep the Sea Free of Debris” art contest. Learn more.

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.