Emergency Response

Beginning in July 2020, unusual amounts and types of marine debris washed ashore in the Bering Strait region of Alaska. Coastal communities were the direct responders to the event, removing the debris from their shorelines and worked to provide reports, images, and descriptions that created awareness of the event. The NOAA Marine Debris Program worked with local stakeholders and response agencies to share information, respond to the event, and identify opportunities for action. Following the event, the Program worked with these stakeholders to create the 2020 Bering Strait Debris Event Report, which documents the occurrence, impacts, observations, and lessons learned, in order to share experiences and improve the response to future debris events.

This Severe Marine Debris Event Report (August 2013) provides an update on the federal activities agencies have undertaken to address marine debris associated with the October 2012 storm known as Superstorm Sandy as it made landfall in the United States. This report will serve as a comprehensive resource summarizing federal progress and involvement related to this effort, as of June 2013. This information is only a snapshot in time. Activities and efforts described in this report are ongoing and changing rapidly.

This document summarizes efforts related to the response to a 70-foot concrete dock from Japan that washed ashore December 18, 2012 on a remote beach in Washington State, within the Olympic National Park and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) areas.

This report synthesizes actions and lessons learned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the overall marine debris community through efforts to detect marine debris caused by the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011.

This document provides guidelines, information, and resources to deal with marine debris dispersion in marine areas outside of major shipping channels, and it incorporates experience and lessons learned from the post-Hurricanes Katrina and Rita marine debris survey and removal efforts. It is a simple, informal, and hopefully useful tool to assist managers at the Federal, State, and local levels to be better prepared to deal with marine debris the next time a powerful storm creates a major marine debris problem.

Citation: Barnea, N., J. Michel, B. Bray, Z. Nixon, G. Imahori and C. Moegling. 2009. Marine Debris Response Planning in the North-Central Gulf of Mexico. June 2009. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS-OR&R-31.

In May 2014, NOAA coordinated a meeting of the entities most involved with Japan Tsunami Marine Debris -- federal agencies, Pacific Coast states, and Indian Tribe representatives-- as well as resource managers and academic researchers to summarize the main activities to date, derive lessons learned, and make recommendations for responding to future severe marine debris events. The JTMD Summary Meeting started with short background presentations, followed by focused discussions in three workgroups: Response, Science, and Communications. Workgroup discussions were facilitated and directed by a series of guiding questions. Note takers captured input from attendees, which was used to generate these proceedings. Citation: Barnea, N. et al. 2014. Proceedings of the Japan Tsunami Marine Debris Summary Meeting. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS OR&R 50. Silver Spring, MD NOAA Marine Debris Program. 53 pp.