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Some marine debris can be picked up by hand. Some requires cranes, divers, flotation devices, or even helicopters to remove. As the NOAA Marine Debris Program marks its 20th anniversary, we are looking at how our work has evolved to address large-scale marine debris across the country. From lost fishing gear tangled on the seafloor to abandoned vessels and decades-old coastal structures, these projects are anything but straightforward. There are multiple strategies and techniques that our partners use to remove even the most persnickety debris from our marine environment. Investments in these projects support the removal of millions of pounds of marine debris, help communities recover from disasters, improve navigational safety, create jobs, and restore important habitat.
Tags Large Scale Marine Debris Removal MDP 20 Years removalSome marine debris can be picked up by hand. Some requires cranes, divers, flotation devices, or even helicopters to remove. As the NOAA Marine Debris Program marks its 20th anniversary, we are looking at how our work has evolved to address large-scale marine debris across the country. From lost fishing gear tangled on the seafloor to abandoned vessels and decades-old coastal structures, these projects are anything but straightforward. There are multiple strategies and techniques that our partners use to remove even the most persnickety debris from our marine environment. Investments in these projects support the removal of millions of pounds of marine debris, help communities recover from disasters, improve navigational safety, create jobs, and restore important habitat.
Tags Large Scale Marine Debris Removal MDP 20 Years removalVessels piled up on a highway in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina (Photo Credit: Federal Emergency Management Agency).
In This Issue 2027 Marine Debris Calendar Back to School Waste Nationwide Trap Awards Surveying Debris on Our Shore Local Action for a National Problem When Disaster Brings Debris HMS Art ContestThe NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP) has an updated Monitoring Toolbox! Check out the new video tutorials and database visualization tools, along with refreshed guides and field datasheets. The Monitoring Toolbox contains all of the resources you need to get started.
Artwork by Carson M. (Grade 5, Georgia), winner of the 2019 NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest.
The NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to announce that the 2027 Marine Debris Calendar is now available for download! This year, the NOAA Marine Debris Program is celebrating 20 years of cleaning our coasts. That’s why the 2027 Marine Debris Calendar features winning artwork across the last 16 years of the “Keep the Sea Free of Debris!” Art Contest. The 13 entries featured in this calendar are a selection of winning entries from the 2011-2026 calendars, created by students around the United States and territories in grades kindergarten to eighth grade.
Back to School Special: What are you disposing of this school year?Through One Cool Earth, students participated in a campus wide trash clean up and learned about how litter becomes marine debris (Photo Credit: One Cool Earth).
The start of the school year is the best time to build new habits in the classroom! If you want to reduce the amount of waste your class produces, a great way to start is to understand what is in your trash and recycling bins. Figure out how much waste your class creates!
Learn how to implement this in your classroom.
The William and Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science and Batten School Announces 11 New Projects Under the Nationwide Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) ProgramAbandoned lobster traps recovered by Hill Fisheries LTD near Cape Ann, Massachusetts (Photo Credit: Hill Fisheries LTD).
The William and Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science and Batten School, in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, announced 11 new marine debris removal projects under the Nationwide TRAP Program. These projects represent an investment of over $1.24 million for the removal of derelict fishing traps with funds provided by a 2023 award from the NOAA Marine Debris Program. The projects will remove an estimated 15,000 lost and abandoned traps while creating over 100 jobs in California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, and North Carolina.
Learn more on the William and Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science and Batten School TRAP Program website.
Surveying Debris on Our ShoresA surveyor stands near a transect on a shoreline at a Nationwide Survey site in Hawaiʻi (Photo Credit: Dawson/NOAA Marine Debris Program).
How much marine debris is along our nation’s shorelines, and how is it changing over time? From Alaska to the Caribbean, scientists are surveying hundreds of shorelines to better understand marine debris across the United States and its territories. In 2024, the NOAA Marine Debris Program launched the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project Nationwide Survey, a shoreline survey effort spanning 620 sites in 10 pre-defined regions incorporating every U.S. coastal state and inhabited territory. The results will provide information to help communities identify debris hotspots, target cleanup and prevention efforts, and track changes in the amounts, types, and distribution of marine debris. With the first year of field surveys well underway and a second year planned, here is an update on what’s happening and how you can follow along.
Learn more about the Nationwide Survey.
Local Action For A National ProblemPuerto Rico Marine Debris Action Plan annual meeting in May 2025 (Photo Credit: NOAA).
Sprawling rivers, winding lakes, and vast miles of ocean and shoreline. Marine environments connect us all from remote communities to the most populous regions. Recognizing that need, the NOAA Marine Debris Program works within communities to build relationships and engage with regional experts. Over the last two decades, this has resulted in the creation of 16 marine debris action plans—collaborative road maps for stakeholders across a state or region to address marine debris.
Learn more about the legacy of these dedicated marine debris communities.
When Disaster Brings DebrisAftermath of Hurricane Isabel in Maryland (Photo Credit: Federal Emergency Management Agency/Crystal Payton).
When thinking of the marine debris issue, small items usually come to mind, such as plastic bottles, food packaging, and other commonly littered items. However, everyday trash is only one part of the problem. Severe incidents can turn everyday items into hazards. Understanding these realities, the NOAA Marine Debris Program works with communities to prepare for natural and human-made disasters, coordinates with response agencies during events, and supports disaster debris removal.
Learn more about marine debris emergency response.
Now Open: Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Art ContestA blue marlin breaches the ocean surface (Photo Credit: NOAA).
NOAA Fisheries holds an annual art contest open to students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Through art, NOAA Fisheries hopes to raise awareness about Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) — shark, tuna, billfish, and swordfish. The 2027 HMS art contest will highlight sustainable fishing of Atlantic sharks, tunas, swordfish and billfish. All entries must be submitted by mail (postmarked) or electronically no later than January 31, 2027. The winning artwork will be featured in a 2028 Atlantic HMS calendar, highlighting the importance of these species to healthy ecosystems and NOAA Fisheries’ successes in conservation through sustainable fisheries management. Contact nmfs.hms.artcontest@noaa.gov with any questions.
Marine Debris Program | Office of Response and Restoration | National Ocean Service | NOAA 2026
1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Contact us at marinedebris.web@noaa.gov
The NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to announce that the 2027 Marine Debris Calendar is now available for download! This year, the NOAA Marine Debris Program is celebrating 20 years of cleaning our coasts. That’s why the 2027 Marine Debris Calendar features winning artwork across the last 16 years of the “Keep the Sea Free of Debris!” Art Contest. The 13 entries featured in this calendar are a selection of winning entries from the 2011-2026 calendars, created by students around the United States and territories in grades kindergarten to eighth grade.
Tags calendar MDP 20 YearsWhen thinking of the marine debris issue, small items usually come to mind, such as plastic bottles, food packaging, and other commonly littered items. However, everyday trash is only one part of the problem. Severe incidents can turn everyday items into hazards. Understanding these realities, the NOAA Marine Debris Program works with communities to prepare for natural and human-made disasters, coordinates with response agencies during events, and supports disaster debris removal.
Tags emergency response MDP 20 YearsWhen thinking of the marine debris issue, small items usually come to mind, such as plastic bottles, food packaging, and other commonly littered items. However, everyday trash is only one part of the problem. Severe incidents can turn everyday items into hazards. Understanding these realities, the NOAA Marine Debris Program works with communities to prepare for natural and human-made disasters, coordinates with response agencies during events, and supports disaster debris removal.
Tags emergency response MDP 20 YearsSprawling rivers, winding lakes, and vast miles of ocean and shoreline. Marine environments connect us all from remote communities to the most populous regions. Recognizing that need, the NOAA Marine Debris Program works within communities to build relationships and engage with regional experts. Over the last two decades, this has resulted in the creation of 16 marine debris action plans—collaborative road maps for stakeholders across a state or region to address marine debris.
Tags MDP 20 YearsHow much marine debris is along our nation’s shorelines, and how is it changing over time? From Alaska to the Caribbean, scientists are surveying hundreds of shorelines to better understand marine debris across the United States and its territories. In 2024, the NOAA Marine Debris Program launched the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project Nationwide Survey, a shoreline survey effort spanning 620 sites in 10 pre-defined regions incorporating every U.S. coastal state and inhabited territory. The results will provide information to help communities identify debris hotspots, target cleanup and prevention efforts, and track changes in the amounts, types, and distribution of marine debris. With the first year of field surveys well underway and a second year planned, here is an update on what’s happening and how you can follow along.
Tags MDP 20 Years shoreline monitoring monitoring MDMAPHow much marine debris is along our nation’s shorelines, and how is it changing over time? From Alaska to the Caribbean, scientists are surveying hundreds of shorelines to better understand marine debris across the United States and its territories. In 2024, the NOAA Marine Debris Program launched the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project Nationwide Survey, a shoreline survey effort spanning 620 sites in 10 pre-defined regions incorporating every U.S. coastal state and inhabited territory. The results will provide information to help communities identify debris hotspots, target cleanup and prevention efforts, and track changes in the amounts, types, and distribution of marine debris. With the first year of field surveys well underway and a second year planned, here is an update on what’s happening and how you can follow along.
Tags MDP 20 Years shoreline monitoring monitoring MDMAPE.C. Hogg, a TRAP program participant, pulls up a derelict crab pot in February 2025. (Photo credit: John Wallace, William & Mary’s VIMS & Batten School).
In This Issue Special Funding Opportunity NOAA Science Seminar Removing Lost Crab Traps Is Helping Map the Chesapeake Bay BoatUS Foundation's Turning the Tide Summit Back to SchoolThe NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP) has an updated Monitoring Toolbox! Check out the new video tutorials and database visualization tools, along with refreshed guides and field datasheets. The Monitoring Toolbox contains all of the resources you need to get started.
A derelict vessel and associated debris in Steinhatchee, FL after Hurricane Idalia in September 2023 (Photo Credit: NOAA).
With funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is seeking proposals under the Hurricane Response Marine Debris Removal Fund. NFWF will award up to $11 million in grants to support projects that assess and remove marine debris in communities in Florida, Georgia, Guam, North Carolina, and South Carolina impacted by Hurricanes Idalia, Helene, Milton, and Typhoon Mawar from 2023-2024 and improve those impacted coastal environments. Full proposals are due on October 21, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT. An informational webinar for potential applicants will be held by NFWF on Thursday, August 20, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT.
For more information and to register for the webinar, please visit the NFWF website.
Closing the gap on watershed sources and sinks of debris in the Great LakesResearchers from the Rochester Institute of Technology removing debris collected from a LittaTrap device installed in a storm drain in Rochester, New York (Photo Credit: NOAA).
On August 18, the NOAA Science Seminar Series will feature research supported by the NOAA Marine Debris Program. Christy Tyler, Ph.D., and Matthew Hoffman, Ph.D., from the Rochester Institute of Technology will present results on debris input, transport, and degradation in the Lake Ontario watershed. Data was collected using LittaTraps deployed across storm drains in Rochester and Brighton, New York over the course of two years. Tune in to learn more about how stormwater data shows how marine debris enters the Great Lakes.
How Removing Lost Crab Traps Is Helping Map the Chesapeake BayE.C. Hogg (front) and Ralph Bonniville (back), both TRAP participants, gather bathymetric data (Photo credit: John Wallace, William & Mary’s VIMS & Batten School).
A partnership between NOAA, William & Mary's VIMS & Batten School, and Chesapeake Bay crabbers is transforming routine vessel activity, including crab trap removal efforts, into a new source of bathymetric data. The NOAA Marine Debris Program is supporting commercial crabbers with side-scan sonar technology to locate and remove lost and abandoned crab traps. Data collected during those recovery efforts is now helping researchers map and better understand the Chesapeake Bay.
Learn more about this exciting data partnership.
BoatUS Foundation’s Turning the Tide Summit: Registration is OpenRegister for the Turning the Tide Summit hosted by the BoatUS Foundation.
Registration is now open for the Turning the Tide Summit hosted by the BoatUS Foundation on December 6-9, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The conference will gather environmental agency staff, policymakers, industry leaders, boating enthusiasts, and others to discuss challenges and lessons learned while managing abandoned and derelict vessels and sustainable disposal solutions for boating related waste, including fiberglass and shrink-wrap. This will be a hybrid event with an option for virtual participation.
Register online on the BoatUS Foundation website.
Back to School Season is Here!Check out the back to school resources.
As you prepare your classroom and check off your back to school shopping list, the NOAA Marine Debris Program has resources for both students and educators to prepare for the school year ahead. Educators can search through over 200 marine debris curricula, activities, and lesson plans. Our online resources are a must-have for this back to school season!
Check out back to school resources.
Marine Debris Program | Office of Response and Restoration | National Ocean Service | NOAA 2026
1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Contact us at marinedebris.web@noaa.gov
Volunteers aboard a skiff head towards the shoreline to clean up debris on Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands, California (Photo Credit: NOAA Marine Debris Program).
In This Issue 20 Years of Working Together for a Debris-Free Future Industry Voices Support Removal of Abandoned Fishing Gear Protecting the Living Waters of the Channel Islands from Marine DebrisThe NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP) has an updated Monitoring Toolbox! Check out the new video tutorials and database visualization tools, along with refreshed guides and field datasheets. The Monitoring Toolbox contains all of the resources you need to get started.
Jason Philibotte, Director of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, stands near retrieved crab trap debris while on a site visit with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Nationwide TRAP Program (Photo Credit: NOAA).
Twenty years ago, the NOAA Marine Debris Program was established as the U.S. Government’s lead to reduce and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris on our ocean and Great Lakes. Jason Philibotte, Director of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, reflects on the experiences that inspired his commitment to addressing marine debris and the partnerships that have advanced solutions over the past 20 years. He looks back on the program's accomplishments, shares lessons learned from witnessing marine debris impacts firsthand, and considers the work still ahead.
Follow along and celebrate two decades of collaborative action.
Industry Voices Support Removal of Abandoned Fishing GearA derelict crab trap is removed from the York River, Virginia (Photo Credit: John Wallace/VIMS).
Firsthand perspectives from industry workers help show how marine debris affects jobs and livelihoods in coastal communities. With support from a 2023 award from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the William and Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) Nationwide Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program is addressing derelict fishing gear across the country. The program removes abandoned fishing traps while collecting data on where and why gear is lost. Through subgrants, the Nationwide TRAP Program supports regional efforts to remove traps and prevent future loss.
Watch the video created by Green Fin Studio, in partnership with VIMS.
Protecting the Living Waters of the Channel Islands from Marine DebrisVolunteers scour the shoreline for marine debris on Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands, California (Photo Credit: NOAA Marine Debris Program).
Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary protect some of California’s richest coastal and marine habitats. Keeping these remote islands and surrounding waters free of marine debris requires extensive collaboration among volunteers, conservation organizations, and local lobster fishers who help recover debris from difficult-to-access shorelines. With support from a 2023 award from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is working with Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Island Packers, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, California State University Channel Islands Santa Rosa Island Research Station, and other regional groups to remove large and hard-to-reach marine debris from the Channel Islands. Volunteer cleanup crews have removed over 18,168 pounds of large debris, including lost fishing gear, from the islands so far. More than 150 volunteers have contributed to over 10 cleanups across Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa Islands.
Learn more about cleaning up the Channel Islands.
Marine Debris Program | Office of Response and Restoration | National Ocean Service | NOAA 2026
1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Contact us at marinedebris.web@noaa.gov
Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary protect some of California’s richest coastal and marine habitats. Keeping these remote islands and surrounding waters free of marine debris requires extensive collaboration among volunteers, conservation organizations, and local lobster fishers who help recover debris from difficult-to-access shorelines. With support from a 2023 award from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is working with Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Island Packers, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, California State University Channel Islands Santa Rosa Island Research Station, and other regional groups to remove large and hard-to-reach marine debris from the Channel Islands. Volunteer cleanup crews have removed over 18,168 pounds of large debris, including lost fishing gear, from the islands so far. More than 150 volunteers have contributed to over 10 cleanups across Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa Islands.
Tags MDP 20 Years Large Scale Marine Debris Removal removal California