Marine Debris

Water pollution comes in many forms, from toxic chemicals to trash. The sources of water pollution are also varied, from factories to drain pipes. In general, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) classifies water pollution into two categories; point source and non-point source pollution.

This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s featured is Christy Kehoe, OR&R Marine Debris Program Mid-Atlantic regional coordinator.

With the support of a Fishing for Energy grant, a partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Covanta, and NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, the Island Trails Network is working to reduce entanglement and mortality of marine mammals, increasing awareness of the impact of entangling debris, and engaging volunteers to remove marine debris from coastlines. In this guest blog by Hana Bulow and Andy Schroeder from the Island Trails Network, learn more about the important work this nonprofit does and the positive impact they have on the Kodiak archipelago.

This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). In this month’s feature meet Tom Barry, a management and program analyst in OR&R’s Marine Debris Program.

For most of us, welcoming in the new year is a time of celebration, reflection, and making resolutions to eat healthier and finish forgotten projects! Here at NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, our New Year’s resolutions are a little different. As we enter into a new decade, we’ve prepared some resolutions specific to pollution and our commitment to keeping the coasts clean from threats of oil, chemicals, and marine debris. In 2020, we will ...

This week, during National Preparedness Month, OR&R is taking a closer look at some of the disaster response roles our office and its partners serve in being prepared for both natural and human-caused disasters. In today’s blog, learn more about how OR&R’s Marine Debris Program helps to prevent and remove debris after major storms, such as hurricanes, and find out what you can do to help prevent debris before the storm hits.

This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s featured scientist is Caitlin Wessel, OR&R Marine Debris Program regional coordinator for the Gulf of Mexico.

When thinking about marine debris, you may picture trash in the ocean — plastic bottles, food wrappers, bags, and other everyday and single-use items that we come into contact with in our everyday life. However, the marine debris problem is much bigger than just our trash, especially when it comes to abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs).

This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s featured scientist is Sherry Lippiatt, the California regional coordinator for OR&R’s Marine Debris Program.

Marine debris comes in all shapes and size, from large abandoned vessels and nets weighing multiple tons, down to tiny fibers from a cigarette butt. Some of the tiniest debris may be causing some big problems. Microplastics, or plastic pieces less than 5mm in size, are persistent and pervasive. Clothing and fishing nets can shed microfibers, which can be a type a microplastic. Cosmetics can contain tiny plastic beads that get washed down our drains and into our waterways. Large pieces of plastic can be beaten by the sun and waves until they fragment into a collection of microplastics. But, what happens when these miniscule microplastics end up in our bodies?