Marine Debris Policy Solutions Chrissy Badaracco Ocean Conservancy

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 papercurrent 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

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