These restoration projects as well as efforts to restore seabird and anadromous fish populations are described in a companion report to the database. The database, the report, and a fact sheet on habitat and species restoration may be accessed or downloaded from gulfofmaine.org , the Council's home page. Chris Cornelisen developed the Coastal Wetland Restoration Database as part of a fellowship he recently completed with Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management. Marine animals that eat trash they find in the ocean can die as a result of suffocation, starvation, poisoning, and injury. Others can become entangled in discarded nets, fishing line, plastic bags, or other material and drown.
Marine debris is, at the least, unsightly to humans, but can also endanger barefoot beachgoers.
More than 10,000 participants picked up and tallied refuse on beaches in the Maritime Provinces, as Beach Sweeps took place there during the first week of June, according to Clean Nova Scotia, the nonprofit environmental organization that has organized the program there for nine consecutive years. Moosehead Breweries sponsored the Beach Sweeps. Coastal cleanups are also scheduled to take place in Maine September 26 through October 3, in New Hampshire September 18-19, and in Massachusetts starting September 19 and continuing into October. The Council will release the results of the Gulfwide cleanup later this year. The forum is funded by the Cabot Family Charitable Trust and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.