Delicta
ADDRESS FOR THE ABOVE FEED -
http://feeds.feeddigest.com/delicta
PHOTO GALLERY
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/marine/clusters/sea-fish-ocean/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/debris/clusters/beach-water-sand/
Add your photos to Delicta at Flickr!
PHOTOS
SHIPS
ARTICLES
The Toxic Legacy of Plastic Bags, by Ian Kiernan, Jan 28, 2008, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
But our easy addiction to plastic bags is destroying our environment, killing our marine life and birds, and is so pervasive and persistent that it is entering the food chain.
A total of 177 marine species are known to ingest plastic litter. Ingestion of litter such as plastic bags can cause physical damage to the oesophagus, mechanical blockage of the digestive system, and a false sensation of feeling full. This can lead to infections, starvation and death.
Altered Oceans, a special 5 part series for the Los Angeles Times.
Slowing the tide of pollutants at KTLA News
Farm Subsidies Lead to Ocean Pollution, Researchers Say by Jessica Azulay, The New Standard
Slowing the tide of pollutants at Los Angeles Times
Plastic Waste Creating Ocean-Sized Crisis - November 2006
While most people seem to appreciate the beauty of the sea, many treat it like a huge garbage dump. This behavior is building up a toxic amount of plastics in the ocean that could one day endanger the sea, all sea life and humanity itself.
Almost every single piece of plastic ever made is still around. Much of that plastic waste material has ended up in the ocean; out of sight, out of mind, but never gone.
Far out in the pacific ocean between California and Hawaii, there are huge islands of garbage swirling together into ever-growing “cyclones” of debris. One island of trash is twice the size of the state of Texas.
Naturalists and ecologist have found plastics making their way into the diets of albatrosses and other birds that nest out in the Hawaiian Islands. Birds are eating lighters, bottle caps from water bottles and soda bottles, plastic tubes, pieces of toys and more.
Trash particles, looking like food, imperil sea life - San Francisco Chronicle, November 2006
Scientists traveling aboard the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza said Sunday they now are gathering firsthand data on threats to the world’s oceans from pollution, overfishing and whaling. As part of that investigation, they released the report, a compilation of studies published since 1990 on plastics in the marine environment.
The current research examines plastic as it weathers into particles the size of sand grains, so small they become part of the tissue of ocean organisms.
“These small fragments of plastics may pose more of a threat to marine life because they resemble the prey of lots of organisms — everything from zooplankton to whales,'’ said Adam Walters, a chemist speaking by telephone aboard the vessel and an author of the report.
These bits can fill the stomachs of birds and other sea creatures that mistake them for food, causing malnutrition and eventually starvation. The researchers are measuring the distribution of the particles as they that float or fall to the ocean floor.
Ocean Litter Gives Alien Species an Easy Ride - National Geographic, April 2002
“Even in the remotest parts of the planet, we see garbage, plastic bottles, cigarette lighters,” said Iain Kerr, a member of the Odyssey team, a five-year research effort to collect data on whales in the world’s oceans. “Albatrosses are feeding their chicks cigarette lighters because they resemble the pumice they eat to help digestion. So you have chicks dying from over-consumption of cigarette lighters. The plastic is everywhere.”
Anyone interested in contributing data to the ongoing study by conducting simple surveys of shore debris should contact David Barnes at: dkab@bas.ac.uk.
Weather Doesn’t Hinder Gravina Island Clean Up Volunteers - SitNews, November 2006
Cegelske said on an information sheet on the Marine Debris Program is a picture of hundreds of spent cigarette lighters that had been collected from the beaches in the area of a clean up. Cegelske said, “We in Ketchikan have thrown some of them in the water also, but we usually just dump our boats with oil, fuel, lead acid batteries, electronics, refrigerators with Freon and other hazardous waste on the beach or let it sink out of sight.” He added, “Not to mention wooden docks which have exceeded their working lifetime, tires, ropes, nets, fuel tanks, carpets, outboards and tons of other trash.”
Cegelske said a recent article in the news stated that over fishing and pollution would work to destroy commercial fishing by 2048. He said, “Do you think that the dumping of hazardous wastes and allowing them to remain will not have an effect on fish populations in Alaska?”
ARTWORK
OBSERVATIONS
Yellow Thing lives on, A GreenPeace report from Esperanza
Plastic Vortex, in Cryptic Moth
Trashed, the Alguita and the Pacfic gyre, by Charles Moore
Trashing the Oceans, by Thomas Hayden
A comparison of plastic and plankton in the North Pacific central gyre, Marine Pollution Bulletin
RESOURCES
Ghost Nets
Plastic Debris, Rivers to Sea Project
Water Witch Workboats - maintenance watercraft
Pacific Whale Foundation - marine debris fact sheet
US Environmental Protection Agency - abatement and solutions
NOAA - marine debris coloring book
NASA Ocean Planet - dangerous debris
US National Marine Debris Monitoring Program - marine debris map location data
High Seas Ghost Net
Ocean Conservancy - marine debris study
UC Davis SeaDoc Society
UC Davis Wildlife Health Center
California Coastal Conservancy
Ocean Protection Council
U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
U.S. Ocean Action Plan
ORGS
Adopt A Beach - UK
Algalita Marine Research Foundation
Blue Frontier Campaign
California Derelict Fishing Gear Removal Program
Coastal Cleanup
Greenpeace
Heal the Bay
International Ocean Institute
Joint Ocean Commission
Marine Conservation Society - UK
The Ocean Conservancy
Pew Oceans Commission
Reef Protection International
Riverkeeper
Veins of Life Watershed Society
PRESS
Joint Ocean Commission
From Sea to Shining Sea: Priorities for Ocean Policy Reform US
REPORTS
Joint Ocean Commission Initiative U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card (pdf)
From Sea to Shining Sea: Priorities for Ocean Policy Reform (pdf)
BLOGS
PODCASTS
FEEDS
ADDRESS FOR DELICTA FEED -
http://feeds.feeddigest.com/delicta
Additional RSS feeds from moreover.com:
Joint Ocean Commission Initiative
U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card
2005
National Ocean Governance Reform D+
Development of the U.S. Ocean Action Plan and establishment of the Committee
on Ocean Policy are significant actions, but to date the tangible results have
been limited given the scope of the challenges facing our nation. Despite pending
legislation and efforts of the Committee, legislative and administrative reforms
addressing organizational deficiencies in NOAA and mandatory interagency
coordination and integration of ocean-related programs have been inadequate.
Moreover, the steps taken to date do not embody the governance reform principles
put forth by the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.
Regional and State Ocean Governance Reform B-
Promising ocean governance efforts are underway in a number of regions and states.
The Joint Initiative encourages more regional collaboration and calls on additional
states to demonstrate a commitment to ocean governance reform. The federal
government should do more to facilitate and support ocean governance reform
efforts in regions and states and should strive for better coordination among
federal agencies at the regional level.
International Leadership F
While some positive steps have been taken regarding international leadership
on ocean issues, our continued failure to become a party to the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea hampers our ability to enhance and protect our
national security interests and to demonstrate international leadership. Despite
overwhelming support from a diverse array of interests, the Senate has yet to
schedule the convention for a floor vote, and more vigorous support from the
Administration is needed.
Research, Science, and Education D
Doubling the ocean research budget and significantly increasing the support for
ocean science and education are fundamental to improving our understanding and
management of the oceans and coasts. The lack of an integrated ocean observing
system capable of providing decision makers with important information compromises
our nation’s capacity to manage the oceans. The absence of an ocean and coastal
stewardship ethic and a sluggish effort to coordinate the public education and
outreach activities needed to enhance such an ethic hamper support for reform
and funding.
Fisheries Management Reform C+
Broad bipartisan support has been garnered for a Senate bill to reauthorize
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and the
Joint Initiative applauds the effort to reach out to Commissioners and other
stakeholders during the development of the bill. The Joint Initiative appreciates
the Administration’s thoughtful consideration of fisheries management reform
in its bill and subsequent input to the Senate bill. The House should build on and
strengthen the Senate bill to reflect the full suite of fisheries management
principles articulated by the Joint Initiative and work with the Senate to make
reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act a reality this year.
New Funding for Ocean Policy and Programs F
Funding for essential ocean programs, outlined above, remains woefully insufficient
and is far outpaced by current and future challenges. Failure to provide even the
modest funding increases recommended by the Commissions, compounded by funding
rescissions in important ocean programs, jeopardizes the economic and ecological
benefits our nation receives from its oceans and coasts. New investment must be
made so that we can address ocean and coastal issues effectively.