Transcript Marine Debris: The State of Our Beaches

Marine Debris: The State of Our Beaches
Loren Henry, North Olympic Skills Center
Your local beaches:
The North Olympic Peninsula is generally an
environmentally friendly area as evidenced by the
presence of agencies and volunteer based
organizations such as Olympic Coast National
Marine Sanctuary, Olympic National Park, Coastal
Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), and
CoastSavers. However, when you look at the amount
of trash on our local beaches, it is clear that there is
a problem. Every month since early 2011, the Skills
Center Natural Resources Program has done marine
debris surveys at beaches near the Elwha River
mouth. An astoundingly large amount of debris has
been collected from these beaches, which are
protected in the strait of Juan de Fuca.
Results/Analysis:
Where does the debris
come from?
Students (above) collecting marine debris at West Elwha (left) and
Dungeness (right) beaches.
Mound of fishing nets (left) on East Elwha beach and pieces of rope
wrapped around drift wood on Dungeness Beach
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), 80% of marine debris comes
from the land. The rest of the marine debris that
washes up on shore is from the ocean. Debris either
comes directly from land via storm drains, storms, and
littering or is dropped off of ships (purposefully and
accidentally). There is a large floating mass of debris in
the Pacific Ocean and pieces of the mass are brought
to our beaches during storms. That the vast majority
of marine debris comes directly from the land shows
the large impact that people have when they do not
properly dispose of their trash.
Marine Debris Abundance by Category:
Strait of Juan de Fuca vs. Outer Washington Coast
More ‘Dumping’ Debris in Strait
Much of the ‘Dumping’ debris
collected on the Strait were pieces of
metal from cars and appliances.
Those are items that come from
people and more people live close to
Percent of
the water on the Strait than on the
Total Items
outer coast, so perhaps this explains
the ~5% difference in ‘Dumping’
debris. Also, the stronger waves on
the outer coast might bury or carry
‘Dumping’ debris away from the
outer coast beaches.
~80% Land Based
on Strait Coast
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
~70% Land Based
on Outer Coast
0.3
1.2
2.0
0.8
6.5
2.7
Medical/Personal
Hygeine
Dumping Activities
30.0
20.8
Smoking-related
Activities
66.5
69.3
Ocean & Waterway
Activities
Strait of Juan de
Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca data comes from East and West Elwha,
Dungeness and Salt Creek beaches from 2011 to 2012.
Outer Washington
Coast
Location
More ‘Ocean and Waterway
Activity’ Debris on Coast
Shoreline
Recreational
Activities
The nearly 10 percent difference in
‘Ocean and Waterway Activities’
with the outer coast being higher is
probably due to the outer coast’s
proximity to the open ocean and
ocean-related debris present there.
In the Strait, most of the ‘Ocean
and Waterway’ debris has to go
around Cape Flattery and there are
many opportunities to get caught
on other beaches along the way.
Outer Coast data comes from CoastSavers Washington Coastal
Cleanup data from 2011 and 2012.
What can you do?
Volunteer: Join COASST and CoastSavers to help survey the local beaches.
Awareness: Read the newspaper and check NOAA Debris website
(marinedebris.noaa.gov) to be aware of what is happening on your local
beaches. Be conscious of where your waste is ending up.
Tsunami Debris:
Tsunami debris from Japan is starting to hit the coasts of the Olympic Peninsula. The estimated time that the
majority of debris is predicted to hit our shores is for a few years starting around October 2012. If you find any
items that could be tsunami debris, report it to NOAA at [email protected]. If you find hazardous or
dangerous items, call 911 and/or phone the state Department of Ecology at 800-645-7911.
Map of projected marine debris paths across the Pacific Ocean from
the 2011 Japanese Tsunami.
Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to Janet Lamont from the National Marine Sanctuary, Ian Miller from Sea Grant, and Tara
Marrow and Dan Lieberman from the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center.