Solutions | Marine Debris Program

Marine debris is one of the most widespread pollution problems facing the world's oceans and waterways. Everyone can help prevent marine debris.

Additional Photo Types

A volunteer sorts marine debris at a table.

A dive crew transporting derelict fishing gear back to shore after a removal expedition.

Naguabo fishing vessel returning to shore to offload derelict fishing gear.

Divers attach lift bags to remove marine debris, including lawn chairs and galvanized metal, from Coki Beach, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Eckerd College students sorting through debris collected during a beach clean-up.

Marine debris collected from the 2018 Great Mangrove Cleanup.

In 2018, 126 volunteers worked to remove more than 3,000 lbs of trash from mangrove shorelines of the St. Thomas East End Reserves, a marine protected area on St. Thomas Island.

University of the Virgin Islands Master’s of Marine and Environmental Science alumna, Kyle Jerris, sorts marine debris at the 2018 Great Mangrove Cleanup on St. Thomas.

An Eckerd College student with a reusable tumbler.

Removing dock debris, with large construction equipment, left in the wake of Hurricane Florence.

A sailboat, left in the wake of Hurricane Irma, being lifted out of the marsh and maritime forest edge in Charleston Harbor.

Community members gathered with the results of a shoreline cleanup on St. Paul Island in 2019.

Cleaning up shorelines on Kodiak Island is often a family affair, engaging community members of all ages.

A volunteer cleaning up debris along a beach.

A person stands next to a monofilament recycling bin that is located near the water.

A person bends down on a beach to view derelict aquacuture gear that has been left on a beach.

Three people stand on a beach examining derelict crab pots that are resting in the sand.

A close up view of microplastics in a pile on a table.

A black, gloved hand holds up a yellow shredded balloon that resembles a jellyfish.

Boat filled with derelict fishing gear.

Man sitting on the bow of a boat.

Man standing in front of a crowd.

A volunteer smiling and holding up two bags of collected debris.

A volunteer stands with some of the haul from the 2015 International Coastal Cleanup.

People filling large, white bags with marine debris on a rocky island coastline on a sunny day.

Collecting marine debris in Sargassum. (Photo Credit: USM)

Fishermen remove derelict crab traps.

Fishermen remove derelict crab traps.

A clean beach remains after a removal team removes debris from the eastern shoreline of Eastern Island. This photo is an after shot from the 2016 marine debris removal mission. (Photo Credit: NOAA PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program)

A clean beach remains after a removal team removes debris from the eastern shoreline of Eastern Island. This photo is an after shot from the 2016 marine debris removal mission. (Photo Credit: NOAA PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program)

The Marine Debris team cutting the large bundle of thin plastic film into manageable pieces. (NOAA PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program)

Two piles of marine debris collected from separate 300-m shoreline segments are staged to be loaded onto the small boat. (NOAA PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program)

A Marine Debris team member picks out debris from the wrack-line where debris accumulates. (Photo credit: NOAA CREP)

After photo of the western shore of Eastern Island. The debris was bagged up and piled up for pick-up.

Before photo of the western shore of Eastern Island.

People sitting on a large pile of debris.

The Marine Debris team removing derelict fishing nets from North Beach, Sand Island, Midway Atoll. (Photo Credit: NOAA CREP)

The Marine Debris team removing derelict fishing nets from North Beach, Sand Island, Midway Atoll.

A Black-footed albatross sits among a beach filled with derelict fishing net.

The two 17' inflatable Zodiac MKIV work boats used to remove marine debris from the shorelines of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Barge carrying marine debris from Alaska's shorelines.

A volunteer removes marine debris from the Quinault reservation in Washington.

ICC volunteers scoop marine debris out of a trash boom in Honolulu.

NOAA divers stand on a pile of nets they removed in Hawaii.

Volunteers remove debris in Jamaica Bay in NY.

Counting Debris found along the shoreline.

Fishing for Debris

Earth Day 2014 Cleanup at Anacostia River.

Horn Island Barge Removal

Derelict Fishing Gear Removal from Midway Atoll

Derelict Fishing Nets Removed from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Fishing for Energy

Marine debris cleanup in Unalaska, Alaska.

Marine debris cleanup near South Point on the Island of Hawaii

Derelict fishing gear cleanup on a beach in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

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For citation purposes, unless otherwise noted, this article was authored by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

Last updated Tue, 03/18/2025 - 06:08 pm EDT