Proceedings of the Untangled symposium: - WSPA

Annex 4Submitted abstracts accompanyingposter presentations3Rs for eliminating ocean trash: reduce, removeand researchNicholas Mallos1300 19th Street NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20036,USAMarine debris is a ubiquitous and significant threat tomarine animals and ecosystems. All anthropogenicdebris endangers marine animals, but plastic debris isconsistently noted to negatively impact marine species—particularly derelict fishing gear and packaging materials.Entanglement in or ingestion of plastic debris has beenreported in more than 260 marine species, includingfish, turtles, seabirds and marine mammals. Marinedebris is not new though, and Ocean Conservancyhas been engaged in the issue for more than a quartercentury. Since 1986, citizen scientists around theworld have assembled on a single day in Septemberto participate in Ocean Conservancy’s InternationalCoastal Cleanup for the purpose of ridding our beaches,waterways and ocean of marine debris. Over the past26 years, 9,361,453 volunteers have removed almost153,790,918 pounds of debris from more than 312,000miles of coastline and waterways in 153 countries.Volunteers record every item of debris they collect ona standardized data form and document any entangledanimals—dead or alive. Year after year fishing line,fishing nets, ribbon and string are listed as the mostcommon types of entanglement debris. Collectively,more than 4,400 entangled animals have been foundby volunteers including a diverse range of sea turtle,shark, porpoise and seabird species. These data havebeen utilized around the world in seminal publicationson marine debris and have led to greater awarenessby stakeholders such as product manufacturers,consumers and government officials; data were alsocritical in informing marine debris legislation. These data,combined with entanglement data from the literature,show that marine species are negatively affected bymarine debris; however, large-scale ecosystem impactsremain essentially unknown. Responding to this need,Ocean Conservancy conceptualized a proposal to one ofthe world’s foremost ecological think tanks, the NationalCenter for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS),to host a working group on the ecological impactsof marine debris. The working group will synthesizeexisting data to quantify the amount of plastic in themarine environment and construct a scientific theory ofmarine debris. This first of its kind analysis will identifydemonstrable impacts of plastic debris on the oceanat all tiers of ecological organization such as species,population and ecosystem levels. On paper, it may seemlogical to equate a single cigarette butt to a fishing netor a bottle, but these items pose very different ecologicalperils to marine animals and habitats. Therefore,understanding better the relationship between impacts/risks and size, volume and mass of debris will underlinedebris types most dangerous to marine animals. Thesefindings will ultimately inform real world decision-makingthat address plastics’ end-of-life ecological impacts inthe marine environment. There is no silver bullet to stopmarine debris, but the International Coastal Cleanupand NCEAS Working Group provide practical andcomprehensive approaches to remove dangerous debrisfrom marine environments and reduce the threat ofentanglement for marine animals.Campaign to prevent waste and cleaning of coastalbeaches involving students, tourists and thecommunity. “Take care of your waste and 3 others.”García Píngaro, Rodrigo; Blengini, MarianaBalneario La Paloma, Rocha, Uruguayrodrigo@occ.org.uyTwo local institutions, with the aim of contributing toraising awareness of the garbage impact in our coastalenvironment, merged to involve the community in theprevention and cleaning of the beaches. In the frameworkof Responsible Tourism by the Organization for theConservation of Cetaceans (OCC) in Uruguay, andSeaside English Center (SEC), Beach Cleanup Days havebeen conducted in coastal communities since 2008,such as: La Paloma, Valizas, Punta del Diablo and Puntadel Este. We involved students from two perspectives:EDUCATIONAL, where the goal is to educate about thecare of our beaches and the classification of waste; andFUNCTIONAL, by providing the tools and the technicallanguage necessary for activities related to wastemanagement anywhere in the world (through the Englishlanguage). Part of this is the initiative conducted duringthe summer, when tourists come and beaches49