Program Strategies, Focus Areas, and Activities

Program Strategic Goals

Lead in the field of marine debris.
Facilitate, support, and conduct research and assessment of marine debris.
Prevent and reduce the occurrence and impacts of marine debris.
Develop, use, and disseminate tools and products to improve efforts to address marine debris.
Encourage changes in behavior to address marine debris.

To reach each of the five strategic goals, the MDP will bring its expertise together with that of other NOAA offices for a multidisciplinary approach to understand and address marine debris through prevention, research, reduction, education, and communication activities. Using intra-agency and inter-agency coordination bodies, the Program will learn about and contribute to non-MDP efforts to address marine debris. The MDP will also partner with scientific, private, government, and nongovernmental groups at local, state, tribal, federal, and international levels.

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Program Activities

The Marine Debris Program seeks to bring greater attention and solutions to this environmental problem by:

Working with external partners such as The Ocean Conservancy and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation to develop educational and outreach materials on the impacts and prevention of marine debris
Working with grant programs such as the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the NOAA Restoration Center to co-sponsor projects to reduce marine debris
Working with other programs within NOAA, such as the National Marine Sanctuary Program, the National Sea Grant College Program, the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center and the NOAA Community-based Restoration Program to address marine debris
Working with other federal agencies to re-establish the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee as stated in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan (pdf, 236kb) (page 20) and to address marine debris issues identified in Chapter 18 of the Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (pdf, 342kb)
Using international law to regulate commercial and recreational boating activities to reduce marine debris

Specific NOAA Marine Debris Program-led projects:

Marine Debris Project Descriptions

Maps of Project Locations

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