The Challenges of Hurricanes and Marine Debris on Islands jennifer.simms Mon, 05/04/2020 - 11:47

Just imagine having the opportunity to wake up every day to the sound of waves, a myriad shades of blue, and warm, salty breezes…For an islander, there is no place you’d rather be! But what happens when nature shows its other face? The NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Florida and the Caribbean and Pacific Islands Regions include island communities that are uniquely impacted by natural disasters. Tropical islands are highly vulnerable to the impact of hurricanes and typhoons for many reasons, and one dangerous consequence is the amount of marine debris that is generated.

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The Challenges of Hurricanes and Marine Debris on Islands Posted Mon, 05/04/2020 - 11:47

Just imagine having the opportunity to wake up every day to the sound of waves, a myriad shades of blue, and warm, salty breezes…For an islander, there is no place you’d rather be! But what happens when nature shows its other face? The NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Florida and the Caribbean and Pacific Islands Regions include island communities that are uniquely impacted by natural disasters. Tropical islands are highly vulnerable to the impact of hurricanes and typhoons for many reasons, and one dangerous consequence is the amount of marine debris that is generated.

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Tags Florida & the Caribbean Pacific Islands emergency response

Preparing for the Storm with Marine Debris Emergency Response Guides Posted Mon, 05/04/2020 - 11:02

Did you know that a category 3 hurricane can produce over 70 million cubic yards of debris? That’s about 31 football stadiums worth of debris! If the debris is near shorelines or waterways, it can end up in the water as marine debris. Removing that much debris is a difficult and expensive process, and it can be difficult to know how to get started. That’s why the NOAA Marine Debris Program is participating in Hurricane Preparedness Week and working with coastal states and U.S. territories to help communities prepare for marine debris after hurricanes.

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Tags Florida Pacific Islands emergency response Caribbean

Preparing for the Storm with Marine Debris Emergency Response Guides Posted Mon, 05/04/2020 - 11:02

Did you know that a category 3 hurricane can produce over 70 million cubic yards of debris? That’s about 31 football stadiums worth of debris! If the debris is near shorelines or waterways, it can end up in the water as marine debris. Removing that much debris is a difficult and expensive process, and it can be difficult to know how to get started. That’s why the NOAA Marine Debris Program is participating in Hurricane Preparedness Week and working with coastal states and U.S. territories to help communities prepare for marine debris after hurricanes.

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Tags Florida Pacific Islands emergency response Caribbean

Preparing for the Storm with Marine Debris Emergency Response Guides Posted Mon, 05/04/2020 - 11:02

Did you know that a category 3 hurricane can produce over 70 million cubic yards of debris? That’s about 31 football stadiums worth of debris! If the debris is near shorelines or waterways, it can end up in the water as marine debris. Removing that much debris is a difficult and expensive process, and it can be difficult to know how to get started. That’s why the NOAA Marine Debris Program is participating in Hurricane Preparedness Week and working with coastal states and U.S. territories to help communities prepare for marine debris after hurricanes.

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Tags Florida & the Caribbean Pacific Islands emergency response

No Silver Bullet: Addressing Shotgun Wad Debris in San Francisco Bay Posted Tue, 04/28/2020 - 06:15

The Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary is one of the NOAA Marine Debris Programs’s longest running Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project partners. Six years of data collection at locations along the Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo county coastline revealed the types and frequency of marine debris on the surveyed shorelines, as well as one particularly interesting and problematic type of debris. The survey data indicated that shotgun wads, the plastic piece inside a shotgun shell that separates the shot from the powder, are one of the top ten most commonly found plastic items on all surveyed beaches.

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How Microplastics Travel in the Southern California Bight Posted Fri, 04/10/2020 - 12:06

Although plastic pollution is not a new phenomenon, concerns over the environmental and human health implications of microplastics, or plastic pieces less than 5 mm in size, has grown rapidly over the past decade. These concerns stem from their potential to be ingested by wildlife, accumulate in animal bodies, and transfer contaminants up the food chain, as well as their widespread presence in the environment.

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Understanding the Movement of Microplastics in River Plumes Posted Fri, 04/10/2020 - 11:31

Microplastics in the ocean are a growing concern to both the scientific community and to the public at large. Much of the attention is focused on the garbage patches that can be found in oceanic gyres and  are thousands of miles from their largely urban sources. However, the amount of microplastics is often significantly higher in urban waterways than in these remote garbage patches.

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Tags microplastics research Mid-Atlantic

Microplastics and Disease in Steelhead Trout Posted Fri, 04/03/2020 - 10:27

In the environment, animals may be exposed to many stressors at the same time, such as pollution, overfishing, and disease. Research suggests that animals exposed to microplastics and microfibers, or plastic pieces smaller than 5mm in size, may experience negative impacts to their immune system.

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Blue Crab Babies and Microplastics jennifer.simms Fri, 04/03/2020 - 09:19

Microplastics, or plastic pieces smaller than 5mm in size, are commonly found in our ocean and coastal waters. Do the microplastics that these larval crabs encounter while drifting in the ocean affect their survival and ability to return to estuaries? With support from a NOAA Marine Debris Program Research grant, a team of University of Delaware marine scientists have joined forces to study this question.

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2020 Florida Marine Debris Reduction Plan Released jennifer.simms Thu, 04/02/2020 - 14:00

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to share the 2020 Florida Marine Debris Reduction Plan. This document is the result of a collaborative effort between the NOAA Marine Debris Program and local, state, and federal governments; nonprofits; industry; and academic institutions, and represents a partner-led effort to guide marine debris actions in Florida for the next five years.

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