update on Marine Debris in Jamaica bay with a highlight on mapping and GPS ing all of the debris within the bay

1. Marine Debris in Jamaica Bay
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
The American Littoral Society is currently conducting shoreline cleanups and
promoting source reduction efforts as part of a marine debris removal project:
Jamaica Bay Marine Debris Removal and Data-driven Prevention Pilot Project
This project is generously funded through the NOAA Restoration Center and the
NOAA Marine Debris Program.
Our Partners in marine debris removal

2. We have been working with funders, partners, and
volunteers to remove large marine debris since 2002.
Together we’ve removed hundreds of derelict vessels and other large debris.

3. Sandy greatly increased the amount of Marine Debris in
Jamaica Bay and it’s surrounding water bodies.
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.

4. Hazard to Navigation
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
Negative Effects of Large & Small Marine Debris
Injury to beachgoers
Toxic to the Environment
Entanglement of/Ingestion by Wildlife
Loss of Tourism Dollars
Expensive to Remove
Smothers Marshland

5. Over 600 derelict vessels, boat fragments, personal watercraft and docks/portions of docks were catalogued.
GPS Coordinates
Measurements
Descriptions
Large Marine Debris Present As of March 2013

6. Large Marine Debris Removed Post Sandy
American Littoral Society
Big Egg Marsh/Broad Channel American Park
Dubos Point
Spring Creek
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
ACOE, JB Ecowatchers, NPS
Floyd Bennet Field
Dead Horse Bay
Plum Beach

7. Motivated
Volunteers
Marine Contractor Demolition Contractors
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
Large marine
debris
removal can
be difficult
and
expensive
Over 180,000 pounds of large debris has been removed from Jamaica Bay since 2010.

8. “Current” Map of Large Debris
133 Boats/Personal Watercrafts 132 Boat Fragments/Engines 171 Docks/Portions of Docks
Sunk or Relocated by Tides
Hidden by Vegetation
Buried by Sand
Removed by Other Organizations

9. Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
Vessels should be maintained and disposed of properly.
Some charities accept donated
boats and will even pick them up from you
For $20.00 the DOS will accept a boat
at it’s facilities in Brooklyn as long as the
fluids have been removed and the person
dropping off the boat has ownership papers.
Call (718) 642-4290
before 3pm to arrange for disposal.
Spread the word!
Prevention is Important

10. Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
The New York State Beach Cleanup
We have been organizing the annual International Coastal
Cleanup in New York State since 1986.
In 2014 we had 6,891 volunteers at 248 sites
Volunteer’s document on data cards the kinds
of debris they remove.
Together they removed 46 tons of debris.
The data is sent to the Ocean Conservancy for
analysis. The resultant studies produce strategies to
reduce marine debris at the source.

11. 60 to 80% of marine debris is made up of plastic.
According to the Ocean Conservancy’s data, most of the top ten items
collected during the 2013 International Coastal Cleanup were
PLASTIC.
Plastic
Grocery
Bags
940.170
Plastic Contains Toxins
TOXINS are
released
into water as
the plastic
breaks down
into ever
smaller
pieces.
“Disposable”
plastic items
can take
HUNDREDS
of years or
more to
disappear
from the
environment.

12. If we don’t do something, the ocean may look like this or worse!
Plastic already out numbers plankton by a wide margin.

13. WATER
CANDY
WATERWATER
The more garbage you produce,
the more likely it is that some of it will find its way to the ocean.

14. Each year, an estimated 38,000,000,000 plastic bottles are incinerated or sent to
landfills in the U.S. That averages out to more than 730 million bottles each week.
That means that each week we discard more bottles then it takes to circle the earth.
It
takes the
equivalent of 3
liters of water to
produce just one
liter of bottled
water
17 million
barrels of oil are
used to supply
the U.S with
plastic bottles
each year.
Once a plastic bottle is
opened, bacteria can
grow quickly unless the
bottle is refrigerated.
WATERWATER
WATER
WATER WATER
WATER
WATER
WATER
WATER
WATER
WATERWATER WATER
WATERWATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATER WATER

15. Our
beaches are
covered with
single-use
items
Buying
and utilizing
reusable
items save
money

16. In New York alone, we use approximately 5.2 billion carryout bags per year.
Plastic bags harm marine animals through both ingestion and entanglement
BYOB

17. Cigarette
filters are
plastic. They
are not
biodegradable
Laboratory tests found that the chemicals from just one cigarette
butt had the ability to kill fish living in a one-liter bucket of water.
They break
up into tiny
pieces that can
be eaten by
marine life

18. Most people do not realize the damage
that releasing balloons can cause to wildlife.
There are more Eco-friendly ways you can celebrate instead,
but be sure not to leave anything behind that is not organic!

19. Many fishing areas have recycling bins for used fishing line and
some ports now accept old nets and traps and recycle them.
Dead and dying Terrapins are
frequently found in abandoned
fishing gear and birds and other creatures are
often entangled in fishing line,
ropes and nets.

20. Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Restrict & Refrain Whenever Possible
And Help The Ocean Look Like This!