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National Sea Grant College Program

Marine Debris Projects and Publications | Programs Invovled in Marine Debris

NOAA Sea Grant programs (located at universities in every coastal and Great Lakes state) join with a variety of federal, state, and local organizations to enhance existing local marine debris clean-up programs and implement education and outreach programs to foster marine debris prevention.

Sea Grant programs are engaged in many types of marine debris activities throughout the Gulf, Pacific, Great Lakes, and Atlantic regions. 

 

Specific Sea Grant Marine Debris Projects and Publications

Gulf | Pacific | Great Lakes | Atlantic

Gulf Region

Gulf/Puerto Rico Sea Grant Programs

• Guide to Reducing Derelict Fishing Gear and Other Marine Debris (pdf, 420kb)

Texas Sea Grant

• Texas Monofilament Recovery & Recycling Program

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant

• Clean Marina Program
• Volunteer Liability (Sea Grant Law Center)

Louisiana Sea Grant

• Facts About Marine Litter

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Pacific Region

Hawaii Sea Grant

• Guidebook to Marine Mammals and Turtles of Hawaii and the Eastern Pacific Region
• Pacific Regional Marine Debris (pdf, 140kb)
• Ghost Net Identification in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

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Great Lakes Region

Ohio Sea Grant

• Clean Marinas Program

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Atlantic Region

University of Delaware Sea Grant Boater Education

• Plastic Pollution in the Marine Environment

South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium

• Beach Sweep/River Sweep

Virginia Sea Grant

• Litter Guide for Kids

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Programs Involved in Marine Debris

The following are a few of the many Sea Grant programs involved in marine debris:

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant - This program engages volunteers to remove marine debris from coastal waters and other watershed locations.  Volunteers in Alabama have removed 83,615 pounds of debris from the beaches and waterways.  More than 4,500 volunteers collected nearly 73,000 pounds of trash along 223 miles of Mississippi Gulf Coast and barrier islands waterways.

Hawaii Sea Grant - This program is active in marine debris research and mitigation, and was instrumental in facilitating the first multi-agency marine debris mitigation task force and the first ever large-scale, multi-agency marine debris removal effort in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in partnership with NOAA Fisheries. 

Ohio Sea Grant - This program initiated a semi-annual underwater clean up in partnership with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and local vendors. Using local SCUBA clubs and land volunteers, they removed approximately 10 tons of trash from the Put-in-Bay Harbor since the first event in 1992. These activities serve the public through:

• Education and public outreach programs that teach new generations about the negative impact marine debris has on the coastal environment.
  
  
• Community-based marine debris cleanup efforts that provide opportunities for environmental stewardship by local citizens and increase the awareness of the issue in those inclined to contribute to the marine debris problem.
  
  
• Reducing marine debris through behavior changes that will improve the quality of life for coastal residents and decrease the negative impact on the environment.

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