Marine Debris Policy Solutions Chrissy Badaracco Ocean Conservancy Summer 2010

What is Ocean Conservancy? Non-profit, environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Combination of scientists, media specialists, and policy experts Six areas of focus include aquaculture, the Arctic, marine spatial planning, marine protected areas, fisheries, and marine debris

My Internship Government Affairs Intern – Wrote marine debris policy research paper- current policies and recommendations for future – Attended several hearings on Capitol Hill for supervisors – Assisted in media and policy work for BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Marine Debris Background “Any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment” (NOAA) Ecological threats include: – Plastic resin pellets – Dangerous chemicals – Nets and fishing line

Past and Current Policies MARPOL 73/78 : International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships at Sea UN Convention on the Law of the Sea London Convention: 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act of Marine Debris Research, Prevention and Reduction Act

Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act 3 primary goals: – Identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the marine environment and navigation safety – Reactivate the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee – Develop a Federal marine debris information clearinghouse

Future Recommendations Reducing Ocean-based Debris – Collection on board: improve facilities, work with Coast Guard, increase jurisdiction of MARPOL’s required garbage management plan – Port facilities: increase Coast Guard’s enforcement, offer incentives (deposit-refund system) to ship owners, no-fault policy – Gear labeling: international protocols, localized legislation – Biodegradability and waste-to-fuel operations Reducing Land-based Debris – Plastic bag and bottle bills

Upcoming Events International Coastal Clean-Up: September 25 – Largest organized debris clean-up in world – Allows for complete inventory of debris, tracked regionally and globally Fifth International Marine Debris Conference in Honolulu, March – Preceded by US conference in Washington, DC in October