PLEASE NOTE: Ocean Conservancy’s report, A Rising Tide of Ocean Debris and What We Can Do About It, is embargoed for release until Tuesday, March 10 at noon EDT (5pm GMT) for broadcast and publication. FOR MORE InfORMATION CONTACT: Tom McCann at 202-351-0465 ([email protected]) Michele Capots at 202-351-0436 ([email protected]) 2009 RepoRt And WhAt We CAn do About It OVERVIEW Introduction from the President and CEO ................................................................................................... 2 A Message from Philippe Cousteau .............................................................................................................. 3 Executive Summary and Key Findings .......................................................................................................... 4 Results from the 2008 International Coastal Cleanup ................................................................................ 6 Participating Countries Map ......................................................................................................................... 7 Marine Debris Kills ...................................................................................................................................... 14 Climate Change and Marine Debris ............................................................................................................ 18 Take Action: Start a Sea Change ................................................................................................................. 22 International Coastal Cleanup Sponsoring Partners ................................................................................. 26 International Coastal Cleanup Volunteer Coordinators and Sponsors ..................................................... 28 THE MARINE DEBRIS INDEX Methodology and Research Notes ............................................................................................................. 34 Marine Debris Breakdown by Countries and Locations ............................................................................ 35 Participation by Countries and Locations ................................................................................................. 42 Marine Debris Breakdown by US States ..................................................................................................... 43 Participation by US States .......................................................................................................................... 46 Acknowledgments and Photo Credits ....................................................................................................... 48 Sources .............................................................................................................................. Inside Back Cover OCEAN CONSERVANCY THE INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEANUP Ocean Conservancy promotes healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems In partnership with volunteer organizations and individuals across and opposes practices that threaten ocean life and human life. the globe, Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup Through research, education, and science-based advocacy, Ocean engages people to remove trash and debris from the world’s beaches and Conservancy informs, inspires, and empowers people to speak and act waterways, to identify the sources of debris, and to change the behaviors on behalf of the ocean. In all its work, Ocean Conservancy strives to be that cause marine debris in the fi rst place. the world’s foremost advocate for the ocean. COVER PHOTOGRAPH Antarctic fur seal entangled in abandoned fi shing net, South Georgia Island, southern Atlantic Ocean. © by Ocean Conservancy All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-615-27056-2 MOZAMBIQUE WE ARE ALL CONNECTED TO THE OCEAN. The disheartening amount of trash afl oat in the sea, littering beaches, and piling up on the sea fl oor affects the health of Earth’s life support system, the ocean, and all the living things in it. Marine debris is more than a blemish on Nature, it is a potential threat to our food supply, to tourism and economic activity, to marine wildlife and ecosystems, and to our personal health. It even relates to the impacts of climate change. But there’s good news: Marine debris is a problem we can readily solve. 01 INTRODUCTION t’s time we realize that all of us — what they found. This information, amassed over the 23-year whether we are among the large history of the Cleanup, has been integral both to raising portion of the world population awareness about this global problem and implementing policy I inhabiting the coast, or those living changes to address it. thousands of miles inland — are intimately connected to the ocean. The ocean The ocean covers more than two-thirds of our planet. is Earth’s life support system. It drives It provides 99 percent of the living space on Earth. Since and moderates our climate. It creates the beginning of human history, we have believed it to be the weather (both good and bad). It is infi nite, but it is not. We simply cannot continue to put our the ultimate source of the water we drink trash in the ocean. The evidence turns up every day in dead and much of the oxygen we breathe. It directly feeds millions and injured marine life, littered beaches that discourage of people. It also absorbs much of the air and water pollution tourists, and choked ocean ecosystems. generated by a world population approaching seven billion. But our ocean is sick, and our actions have made it so. To keep the circle of life intact and healthy, we must act now. We must recognize that the ocean is inextricably connected This special report highlights the ways in which trash impacts to us; when we allow trash to get into the ocean, we directly ocean health, and offers solutions based on that information affect its health. And that, as you’ll learn in this report, that every one of us can implement every day to ensure may affect our own health and well-being. a healthy ocean for the future. The report is a global snapshot that shows how we are part of the marine debris picture—and In spite of all of the wonderful life-giving benefi ts provided key to the solution. by the ocean, most people don’t yet understand what’s really at stake. All of these ocean benefi ts—indeed, the future Please read the Take Action section in this report, and visit of life on Earth—are threatened by climate change and its www.oceanconservancy.org on a regular basis, to fi nd out direct impact on the ocean, the land, and humanity. As we what you can do to make a difference, including joining us work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we must also on September 19, 2009, at the 24th annual International fi nd ways to improve ocean health. We must make the ocean Coastal Cleanup. more resilient to the negative impacts already set in motion by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and seawater. For the ocean, Tackling the major pollution problem of marine debris is a sure-fi re way to make an immediate change for the better. I’m happy to report that awareness of ocean connections is growing, as shown by exploding participation in Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. In September VIKKI SPRUILL 2008, from the landlocked state of Nebraska in the United President and CEO, Ocean Conservancy States to countries with long ocean borders like Mozambique, 390,000 people in 104 countries and locations—each concerned about the fate of our planet—walked riverbanks, lake shores, and beaches picking up trash. Among them were more than 10,600 divers and more than 1,200 boaters. These volunteers not only cleaned up trash, but logged data about 02 A MESSAGE FROM grew up with the ocean. Sitting with This report is a reminder that our own carelessness and my grandfather and listening to his indifference is proving deadly for our ocean’s inhabitants. life’s stories—hearing the urgency Offered here on these pages are more than mere facts and I in his voice—being inspired by the fi gures. The time for action is now, and true change will require passion that he had for taking action taking a bold and courageous stand. There are solutions that for our water planet. The oceans are the everyone, everywhere in the world, can adopt and join in. life support system of this planet. They Most of them are quite simple: throw your trash in the proper are in peril, and it is critical that we all receptacles; opt for reusable bags at the grocery store; eat only know we have a responsibility to protect sustainably caught fi sh; recycle. Regardless, whatever you and restore the oceans because everything choose to do to help the ocean, the most important thing is to we do makes a difference, all of our choices have consequences. do something, to not only be ardent advocates of conservation but also its most active participants. The preservationist John Muir said it best, I believe: “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he fi nds it attached to The time for sea change has come. Each of us has a personal the rest of the world.” responsibility when it comes to the health of the ocean. While the challenges we face may seem overwhelming, I am a fi rm Building on my grandfather’s and father’s legacy, I dedicate believer that together we can build the sustainable future my work to the ocean as CEO of EarthEcho International of our dreams. Each of us alone. All of us together. Making and as an Ocean Conservancy board member. Empowering a positive difference. every individual to take action for a healthy and abundant