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NOAA, federal partners announce marine litter strategy

October 28, 2020

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NOAA team conducts shoreline marine debris removal at Lisianski Island.

NOAA awards $2.7 million in grants for marine debris removal and prevention

August 26, 2020

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Removing dock debris left in the wake of Hurricane Florence, September 2018.

Art gallery: Browse the 2019 award-winning student artwork inspired by the ocean

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“Atlantic Octopus” by Alicia Z., Grade 7, is a winner of the Marine Art Contest 2019. Winning art is posted on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary website.

NFWF and NOAA announce $8.2 million in grants to aid communities

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Vessels and other debris in a Panama City, Florida, marina following Hurricane Michael in 2018.

Creating a social norm: A student-designed program to reduce marine debris

February 25, 2020

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The Trash Shouldn’t Splash Toolkit provides signage that can be used inside restaurants to encourage visitors to use alternatives to single-use plastic. The sign reads, "Think of our seas and be single-use plastic free!"

When beaches are trashed, who pays the price?

September 26, 2019

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coastal economies

Marine debris washed up on a beach.

NOAA awards $2.7 million in grants for marine debris removal and research

August 15, 2019

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A marine debris team member gathers a handful of disposable cigarette lighters picked up at a beach cleanup site.

University of Florida students clean up Florida Keys marine debris

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University of Florida student holds rope found on the Sugarloaf Key shoreline. Rope can entangle marine life and is especially important to remove.

After tracking local marine debris, students convince restaurant to help stop the problem at its source

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Students survey washed-up trash in Santa Barbara, California, using the Marine Debris Monitoring Toolkit.

Protecting paradise: Marine debris team does the heavy lifting

November 14, 2018

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Kristen Kelly, marine debris technician, holds her breath and free-dives down to carefully cut and remove a large derelict fishing net from the reef at Pearl and Hermes Atoll.

Infographic: A guide to plastic in the ocean

September 27, 2018

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Plastic toys can become marine debris.

Marine debris: A problem you can get your arms around

September 10, 2018

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This not where you'd like to have the empty bottle of your favorite drink end up. Please always be sure to properly recycle your plastics and other trash. --> Want to make more of a difference? Join a local International Coastal Cleanup in September to help rid the seas of marine debris.

Marine debris comes in many forms, including toothbrushes

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Plastic debris, such as these toothbrushes, travels far and wide.

Ocean Plastics Lab coming to Washington’s National Mall, June 4-17

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Marine debris washed up on a beach.

NOAA and UN Environment co-host the Sixth International Marine Debris Conference in San Diego, California

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In an earlier NOAA-funded project, derelict fishing gear and other large marine debris were removed from remote Alaskan shorelines by the Gulf of Alaska Keeper.

Teach #DebrisFree and become part of the solution to ocean pollution

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Students at Sir Francis Drake High School collect bags of marine debris that washed ashore on Point Reyes Beach in northern California.

Marine Debris Art Contest open now through November 30th

October 25, 2017

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The NOAA Marine Debris Program holds this annual art contest to reach K-8 students and help raise awareness about marine debris, one of the most significant problems our ocean faces today.

NOAA funds 11 new projects to remove marine debris

August 29, 2017

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In an earlier NOAA-funded project, derelict fishing gear and other large marine debris were removed from remote Alaskan shorelines by the Gulf of Alaska Keeper.

8 ways to keep the Earth cleanoffsite link

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Litter such as plastic detergent bottles, crates, buoys, combs, and water bottles blanket Kanapou Bay, on the Island of Kaho’olawe in Hawaii. This region is a hot-spot for marine debris accumulation.

Every action counts: Join a cleanup this #EarthDay

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Students take part in a shoreline cleanup at the Port of Oakland's Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland, CA.

New report: Marine debris could help spread non-native species

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Scientists load onto a small boat marine debris collected at Midway Atoll in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

'Every Full Moon' video talks trash and protecting the sea from marine debris

November 14, 2016

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Regional Emmy® award-winning TRASH TALK Special Feature explores the impacts and causes of marine debris.

Students take action against marine debris by embracing zero waste

October 4, 2016

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Students at Lupelele Elementary School in Pago Pago, American Samoa worked together to keep their campus clean of litter through campus cleanups.

NOAA awards grant funding to boost coastal and ocean resilience

August 25, 2015

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NOAA removed approximately 57 tons of derelict fishing nets and plastic litter from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (link is external)'s tiny islands and atolls, sensitive coral reefs and shallow waters.

Ocean pollution

September 30, 2016

Marine debris washed ashore on the Hawaiian island of Kaho'olawe.

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Ocean & Coasts Education

Taking out the trash — in the middle of the Pacific

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Since 1996, NOAA has removed marine debris from Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii, including 12 tons from this year's mission.

Video: What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

November 24, 2015

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What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Blog: Japan tsunami marine debris — A look back five years later

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A small vessel on the rocky shoreline in Kahana Bay, Oahu, Hawaii.

Five years after Japan's tsunami: What we've learned about marine debris

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A small boat washed ashore at Cape Disappointment, Washington in 2012.

What is marine debris?

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Marine debris is dangerous to wildlife even in the most remote places. This Hawaiian monk seal rests upon a derelict fishing net in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Podcast: Alaska is full of wilderness, beauty—and marine debris?

February 2, 2016

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Alaska has a marine debris problem.

Marine Debris Program awards community-based marine debris removal grants

September 17, 2015

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As part of a pilot program with the North Carolina Coastal Federation, funded through a NOAA Marine Debris Community-based removal grant, commercial fishermen remove derelict crab pots in order to repurpose them as artificial oyster reefs.

Video: What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

November 24, 2015

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What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

NOAA’s Marine Debris Program funds 13 new community-based removal projects

September 17, 2015

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Marine debris is considered anything that does not naturally belong in the water. It includes plastics and lost or abandon fishing gear.

NOAA removes 57 tons of marine debris from Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

October 28, 2014

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NOAA removed approximately 57 tons of derelict fishing nets and plastic litter from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (link is external)'s tiny islands and atolls, sensitive coral reefs and shallow waters.