Marine debris: How trash ends up in the ocean
Marine debris: How trash ends up in the ocean
How does an office chair end up in the water?
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
Jess: I was on a shark tagging trip, and we pulled up the shark that was wrapped in plastic around its gills, and you know, it looked like it had kind of grown into it.
So we did rescue the shark. We cut off the plastic and set them free.
And they heal pretty quickly, so it’s probably still swimming around today, luckily. Jess: It was a sandbar shark. Jess: They’re really common, and my professor and I always refer to them as the puppies of the sea because they just wag their tails a lot when you catch them. Along with cool creatures, she’s found garbage that includes an office chair, a Nintendo circuit board, and a lot of plastic. All of these things are examples of marine debris. Jess: Marine debris is any solid man-made material that’s been intentionally or unintentionally disposed of in the ocean or the Great Lakes. Marine debris, you know, it shouldn’t exist in the ocean. So it’s a really important indicator of work that needs to be done. Additionally, marine debris can harm wildlife, damage sensitive habitats like coral reefs, transport potential invasive species and other contaminants, and it can also impact areas that are supported by ecotourism and fisheries. Countries around the world are working to address this issue. One complex problem involves something called a nurdle. Jess: It’s this little, itty-bitty, tiny plastic that is made to be that small. Most microplastics we see are broken down from larger objects. But nurdles are made to be poured into molds and make other items that we use. We’re not really supposed to see them ever, but they’ve been found on beaches all around the world. Recording where debris is found helps to understand the problem—and find ways to fix it. Jess: NOAA has what’s called the Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project, which is what I mainly work on.
This is a protocol and a database that allows anyone to get outside and survey their local shorelines. They then can put their data into the database and get out graphs and visuals. And what this allows them to do is to have a place to see what is the most common in their area. And then they can use that for their own knowledge or applying it to incorporating their local government for solutions, things like that. One common kind of success story that we had is people were finding these yellow snippets of rope along a shoreline. We actually made a custom item in our database for people to find. And they collected, I think it was hundreds of pounds of these yellow ropes. And through MDMAP and all the people who volunteered to survey, they were able to start a recycling program to get these ropes taken care of and made into something useful.”
So we did rescue the shark. We cut off the plastic and set them free.
And they heal pretty quickly, so it’s probably still swimming around today, luckily. Jess: It was a sandbar shark. Jess: They’re really common, and my professor and I always refer to them as the puppies of the sea because they just wag their tails a lot when you catch them. Along with cool creatures, she’s found garbage that includes an office chair, a Nintendo circuit board, and a lot of plastic. All of these things are examples of marine debris. Jess: Marine debris is any solid man-made material that’s been intentionally or unintentionally disposed of in the ocean or the Great Lakes. Marine debris, you know, it shouldn’t exist in the ocean. So it’s a really important indicator of work that needs to be done. Additionally, marine debris can harm wildlife, damage sensitive habitats like coral reefs, transport potential invasive species and other contaminants, and it can also impact areas that are supported by ecotourism and fisheries. Countries around the world are working to address this issue. One complex problem involves something called a nurdle. Jess: It’s this little, itty-bitty, tiny plastic that is made to be that small. Most microplastics we see are broken down from larger objects. But nurdles are made to be poured into molds and make other items that we use. We’re not really supposed to see them ever, but they’ve been found on beaches all around the world. Recording where debris is found helps to understand the problem—and find ways to fix it. Jess: NOAA has what’s called the Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project, which is what I mainly work on.
This is a protocol and a database that allows anyone to get outside and survey their local shorelines. They then can put their data into the database and get out graphs and visuals. And what this allows them to do is to have a place to see what is the most common in their area. And then they can use that for their own knowledge or applying it to incorporating their local government for solutions, things like that. One common kind of success story that we had is people were finding these yellow snippets of rope along a shoreline. We actually made a custom item in our database for people to find. And they collected, I think it was hundreds of pounds of these yellow ropes. And through MDMAP and all the people who volunteered to survey, they were able to start a recycling program to get these ropes taken care of and made into something useful.”