Marine Plastic Pollution
Plastic Pollution and Debris Harms Our Marine Environment
Plastic debris pollutes our marine environment and harms wildlife that depend on clean surroundings to prosper. Boaters can do something about it.
Clean boating involves a number of concerns for us.
A few of these issues are addressed in the article on Ecologically Friendly Boat Travel. Plastic is part of our modern life and its development provides many benefits to society. Plastic has an environmental dark side. It does not break down easily in the environment and comes in many forms that harm wildlife. These include monofilament fishing line, nylon banding straps, commercial fishing nets, bottles and floats, packing materials, and bags.
Plastic harms animals found in the marine environment and damages boating equipment.
Since they take decades to degrade, plastics build up progressively in the environment. Shore and seabirds become entangled in discarded six-pack carrier rings, they feed their chicks plastic packing pellets, tangles of used fishing line snare fish, whales are snarled in ghost nets, and boaters can have plastic bags pulled into their engine cooling systems or suffer having lines wrapped around propellers. If you desire having a remarkable experience, try getting a mad sea otter out of a discarded fishing net.
Commercial fishermen have led the efforts to recycle used plastic net.
They know their future depend on maintaining a healthy environment for the fishing resource. Recycling net prevents harm to marine wildlife and diverts bulky nets from taking up limited landfill space. United States legislators passed the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (MPPRCA) to help enforce provisions of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). If you spend any time in the marine industry, you will hear about MARPOL. MARPOL sets the international standards for pollution control for vessels at sea.
What can be done to control plastic pollution in the marine environment?
- Support and encourage enforcement of environmental regulations.
- Buy consumer products that use a minimum of plastic packing materials. Reduce your personal use of plastics.
- Encourage local harbors and marinas to provide adequate facilities for collection of solid wastes including plastics. Bring everything back from your boating adventures. Throw nothing overboard
- Most plastic debris (80%) that pollutes the ocean comes from the uplands and not from boaters. Local communities can do a better job with maintenance of their storm sewer systems, solid waste disposal facilities like landfills, and trash collection.
- Participate in clean-up day activities and pickup trash when you see it. Call the Center for Marine Conservation at 1-800-CMC-BEACH for information on clean-up campaigns happening in your region. Leave the beach or campsite cleaner than you found it.
These suggestions are just a few of the ways boaters can protect the environment. Ours is an innovative industry and new ideas evolve everyday. You can contribute to the innovation.
Protect the marine environment and protect your future enjoyment of the marine environment! Boaters can create an amazing force for defending the waterfront experience.
