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The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is integral to Native Hawaiian culture and is a sacred landscape. Unfortunately, marine debris has and continues to pose a significant threat to its natural and cultural resources. We are pleased to support the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s Marine Debris Project team as they launch a 30-day mission in the monument with support from the non-profit Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project.
Tags Pacific Islands removal NWHIThe Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is integral to Native Hawaiian culture and is a sacred landscape. Unfortunately, marine debris has and continues to pose a significant threat to its natural and cultural resources. We are pleased to support the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s Marine Debris Project team as they launch a 30-day mission in the monument with support from the non-profit Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project.
Tags Pacific Islands removal NWHISince 1992, the NOAA Great Lakes Mussel Watch Program (GLMWP) has collected invasive zebra and quagga mussels from sites in the Great Lakes as part of its national contaminant monitoring program. Zebra and quagga mussels store contaminants in their bodies, a quality that suggests they may be useful as water quality biomonitors. Because they are stationary filter feeders, are abundant, and are relatively resistant to chemicals, their body tissues can be tested to reveal pollution where they live. In 2018, a team of marine scientists from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, NOAA GLMWP, and Loyola University Chicago joined forces to ask whether these invasive mussels take in microplastics along with chemical pollutants, and might they be indicators of microplastic pollution in the Great Lakes?
Tags research Great LakesLocated about 2,500 miles to the southwest of Hawai‘i, the U.S. unincorporated territory of American Samoa lies only a hundred miles and a jump across the international dateline from its cultural neighbor, the nation of Samoa. However, both islands share a fate similar to many Pacific island nations. Over the past few decades, problems with solid waste management have been exacerbated by limited space and a steadily increasing amount of imported goods and materials. Arizona State University, in collaboration with partners in American Samoa, received a grant from the NOAA Marine Debris Program to quantify the amount of microplastics and associated contaminants in American Samoa’s marine waters and marine organisms to better understand the potential risks to ecosystems and human health.
Tags research Pacific IslandsHappy Ocean Month! To close out the celebration, we’re exploring Ocean Trivia. Check out these activities, lessons, and resources that use curiosity and inquiry to answer your questions about marine debris.
Tags educationThe NOAA Marine Debris Program is excited to announce the winners of the sixth annual Ohio Marine Debris Challenge! This year, middle and high school students from Ohio’s Lake Erie coastal communities completed lessons and created artwork to raise awareness about the global problem of marine debris, especially in the Great Lakes. Students were challenged to create original artwork using repurposed trash that showcased Cedar Point Amusement Park’s 150th Anniversary.
Tags Great Lakes art contestThe Ocean Plastics Recovery Project, in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, will lead a team of scientists, students, artists, and plastics recycling and recovery experts on the first of several marine debris cleanup expeditions to Katmai National Park in Alaska. Collectively, the cleanups, planned for 2021-2022, will be the largest marine debris removal effort in Katmai to date and has the goal to remove over 25 tons of ocean plastics from the marine environment and improve approximately 500 acres of coastal habitat for the salmon, bears, and all wild inhabitants of the 4,000,000-acre park.
Tags Alaska removal