The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently announced a US$5.2 million/~€4.7 million marine debris removal award to the Ocean Conservancy.
The grant will allow the organization to remove large amounts of debris from US coastal waters, particularly in inaccessible and remote locations that cannot be removed by hand.
The four-year grant will also allow the Ocean Conservancy to allocate $2.2 million toward working with local community organizations to remove this debris.
Commenting on the award, Ocean Conservancy Senior Director of Conservation Cleanups Allison Schutes stated:
“These will not be typical beach cleanups. Yes, we will undoubtedly recover plastic bottles, bags and other smaller items that commonly pollute our ocean. But this grant will allow us to go to remote locations heavily impacted by debris and deploy specialized equipment to remove items too large to remove by hand.”
While Ocean Conservancy Arctic Marine Debris Manager Kristina Tirman added:
“Even Alaska’s most remote shores are often littered with marine debris. Everything from small plastic fragments and bottles to large pieces of net and line wash up in huge quantities. The debris harms wildlife and negatively impacts livelihoods, food security, and other aspects of life in coastal communities. We are excited to be supporting partners in Yakutat, Sitka and the Norton Sound region as we work together to mitigate the impacts of marine debris in these critical ecosystems.”
Amy Gohres, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Program Manager for the NOAA Marine Debris Program, added:
“We are proud to support Ocean Conservancy’s comprehensive efforts to remove large marine debris, prevent derelict fishing gear in the future, and oversee a national funding competition for communities to address local marine debris issues. From Florida’s coral reefs to Alaska’s rocky intertidal shoreline, this project will protect marine life and benefit fishing communities across the nation.”
