2006 Marine Debris Program Accomplishments 

• Conducted a successful workshop for the development of an Implementation Plan for 

the Marine Debris Program---comprised of 40 participants, including 20 from other 

federal agencies, state agencies, NGO’s, industry, and private sector. 

• Took a lead role in the re-establishment of the Interagency Marine Debris Committee 

as stated in the Ocean Action Plan; NOAA serving as co-chair. 

• As co-chair of Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee, spearheading 

efforts to complete the Committee Charter and the purview of the Committee, as well 

as the establishment of two ad hoc working groups for international marine debris 

and educational messaging. 

• Established two Federal funding grant opportunities through National Fish and 

Wildlife Foundation and Restoration Center. 

• Established an internal grant opportunity for NOAA and their partners. 

• Entered into a partnership with The Walt Disney Company to “Promote Marine 

Debris Awareness and Young Stewards of the Ocean”. The focus of the campaign is 

to create a public-private partnership to educate families on the importance of clean 

oceans and how marine debris can impact marine life. This will be achieved through 

Public Service Announcement campaign linked to the re-release of the Little 

Mermaid DVD. 

• Created a partnership with the Norwegian Cruse Line to develop a marine debris 

information billboard on the ships for the Hawaii based cruise line. 

• Integration of Marine Debris identification and recording into Shoreline Cleanup 

Assessment Training for Emergency Response to oil spills and other hazardous 

situations. Demonstration of this integration occurred during the multi-agency Safe 

Seas Exercise in San Francisco, August 2006. 

• Collaborated with the Northwest Straits Commission on derelict fishing gear removal 

operations and assessments. 

• Contributed to The Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Clean-up day through 

funds and nationwide NOAA volunteer participation. 

In 2006, the program funded a range of projects in areas such as emergency 

response, research, cleanup efforts in targeted areas, education programs, and 

projects that assess the impact of marine debris on marine mammals and seabirds. 

Here is an abbreviated list of specific 2006 accomplishments from projects located in 

various states. Please note this is not a complete list of projects but only those that 

have so far reported on major accomplishments as of August 2006. 

Alaska Removal of debris from Unalaska Island 

vicinity resulted in four days of marine 

debris removal and the collection of 13,030 

lbs of debris in the form of fishing gear, 

nets, floats, ropes, and crab pots. 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands 

Prevention of Vessel Debris – Completed 

successful vessel inspection training for 

local vessel inspectors held during the 

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week of July 17, 2006. 

Florida Removal of 120 tires from the Osborne 

Tire Artificial Reef Florida for recycling 

company inspection and testing of 

alternative recycling methods and cost. 

Guam Supporting the first ever marine debris 

education campaign for Guam. 

Hawaii 

• Continued support of the multi-agency 

debris cleanup in the NWHI established 

in 1996. 

• Conducted the first-ever comprehensive 

marine debris assessment and removal 

project to gather information on marine 

debris in the main Hawaiian Islands. 

Completed aerial surveys from a 

helicopter to spot marine debris around 

the coastlines of Kauai, the Big Island 

of Hawaii. Flying up to five hours per 

day, and obtained GPS data, photos, 

and other information that will be used 

to map the distribution and abundance 

of the debris located. 

• Honolulu port reception feasibility 

project - Preliminary feasibility project 

conducted by Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council and NOAA 

reported that approximately 81% of the 

fishers surveyed were agreeable to 

hauling nets and derelict fishing gear to 

Honolulu ports for recycling. As a 

result a receptacle container was 

purchased to collect the DFG. The 

container was emptied on May 6, 2006 

at Schnitzer Steel Hawaii and weighed 

in at 5,680 lbs. It was emptied for the 

2nd time on Tuesday, September 5, 

2006. In the approximately four 

months since it was last emptied last, 

6,720 lbs. of fishing net and line were 

placed in it for recycling. 

• Debris Removal from the Waiohinu-Ka 

Lae Coast - Over 220 volunteers 

participated in these cleanups, 

collecting 35 tons of marine debris in 

total. Approximately 30 tons were 

derelict fishing nets, and plastic made 

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up 82% of other debris items. 

Louisiana Post-Hurricane Marine Debris and 

Underwater Obstruction Assessment - July 

15, NOAA and Louisiana Sea Grant held 

their first voluntary debris marking day. 

Team members logged and photodocumented over 50 obstructions 

throughout the Calcasieu estuary. 

Maryland/Virginia Mapping and assessment of DFG in 

Chesapeake Bay - Preliminary estimates of 

derelict trap densities for the surveyed 

portions of the Virginia and Maryland 

waterway are as high as 30 pots/km2 for 

the York River, VA and 120 pots/km2 for 

the South River, Maryland.. 

Massachusetts Removal of DFG from Stellwagen Bank 

NMS shipwrecks to prevent recreational 

diver entanglement - On September 14 and 

15, a dive team participated in a derelict 

gear removal project at the Paul Palmer 

shipwreck in the sanctuary. The team 

removed approximately 150-lb trawl net 

that had been caught on the wreck's 

windlass. 

Mississippi/Alabama A successful radio PSA created by 

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant was 

broadcast throughout MS/AL and the Gulf 

and was also available on the internet. The 

project PSA won a Clear Channel Award 

for innovative educational programming. 

New Hampshire Working with the University of New 

Hampshire, the integration of new 

PDA/GPS technology for marine debris 

tracking was developed and tested during 

2006 ICC events in NH. 

Washington • Olympic Coastal Cleanup -Beach 

Debris Removal - A six-person crew 

worked from October 24 through 

November 13, 2005 and removed 

approximately 2,350 pounds of debris 

from six remote sites. The crew 

packaged and carried trash overland. 

• Diver training program, exporting 

cleanup and training - Provided support 

for a Navy diver training program in 

Seattle, WA to remove DFG from local 

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waters; Training continues for local 

tribal divers. 

Washington, DC Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative 

and Summit - Supported in part, the Alice 

Ferguson Foundation’s Trash Summit 

centering on the goal of attaining a “trashfree Potomac” by 2013 took place on 

March 16, 2006 at the World Bank in 

Washington, DC. 

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