Marine Debris Policy Solutions

Chrissy BadaraccoOcean 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 2006

• 2006 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 20-25– Preceded by US conference in Washington, DC in

October