Marine Debris and Derelict Fishing Gear The Importance of Understanding the Impacts to Fisheries and Finding Solutions

Council Coordination Committee MeetingCrowne Plaza, Silver Spring, MDFebruary 26, 2009

Holly Bamford, Ph.D.NOAA Office of Response & RestorationMarine Debris Program, Director

Assisted in presentation information:Megan ForbesCarey Morishige

Photography:NOAA Marine Debris ProgramNOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science CenterNOAA Abandoned Vessel ProgramU.S. Coast GuardOcean ConservancyNOAA Pacific Island Regional Office, Observer Program

Acknowledgements

Todays OutlineMarine DebrisWhat are we talking about?Why should we care? - ImpactsRequirements for NOAA

NOAA Marine Debris Program

Projects of InterestFisheries observer partnershipDerelict gear disposal & recyclingFishermen DFG removal partnershipOther related projects

Next steps and collaboration

National Research CouncilRecent report on marine debrisRecommendations

What is Marine Debris?Any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment and the Great Lakes.

Marine debris enters the water in many ways.

One of the most harmful form of debris - Ghostnets - lost or abandoned fishing gear that continues to trap fish and other marine resources.

The rising concern of microplastics has grown over the last couple of years.

Impacts of Marine DebrisImpacts on human safety and navigationIn 2005, collisions with floating and submerged objects caused 269 boating accidents, resulting in 15 deaths, 116 injuries and $3 million in property damage (U.S. Coast Guard).

NOAA surveyed 700 square nautical miles of Alabama, Mississippi, and parts of eastern Louisiana nearshore waters> 5,000 objects located ~ 50 % having a clearance depth of < 5 feet

Summers of 1987-88, beaches in New York and New Jersey were closed when medical waste washed ashore.

Impacts of Marine Debris continuedImpacts on the EconomyIn 1987, estimated between $380M and $1.60B lost as a result of medical debris wash-ups in New Jersey. Estimated lost crab pots kill 744,000 pounds of Dungeness crab per year in Puget Sound worth approximately $1.2M.Estimated debris created by Hurricane Katrina 100 million yds3

Impacts of Marine Debris continuedImpacts on the EnvironmentDebris such as lost fishing gear can damage coral reefs by smothering or breaking apart corals. Lost gear can also result in ghost fishing. Ingestion of small plastics can lead to starvation or malnutrition267 animal species worldwide have reported incidents of entanglement and ingestion

NOAAs MD MandatesCoastal Zone Management Act, as amended 1990Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control ActCoral Reef Conservation Act of 2000Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act of 2006Established the NOAA Marine Debris ProgramNon-Regulatory, focus on research and preventionMAPPING, IDENTIFICATION, IMPACT ASSESSMENT, REMOVAL, AND PREVENTIONREDUCING AND PREVENTING LOSS OF GEAROUTREACH TO STAKEHOLDERS GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND CONTRACTSUSCG - take actions to reduce violations of and improve implementation of MARPOL Annex V and the Act to Prevent Pollution from ShipsNRC REPORT TO CONGRESSEstablishment of Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee

NOAA Marine Debris ProgramEstablished in 2005 National budge ~$4MNOAA wide program resides in NOS

Program StaffDirector and 9 full-time staff

Regional coordination of projects> 100 projects to dateThree competitive Federal Funding Opportunities

Goals:PreventAssessReduce

Website: marinedebris.noaa.gov

Program Focus AreasDerelict fishing gearData collection and monitoringResearch CoordinationOutreach and education On-the-ground efforts

Fisheries Observer Partnership - BackgroundNOAA PIRO Observer ProgramAnecdotal information of marine debris interaction from Hawaii longliners Interaction with marine debris at sea was an obvious issue for Hawaiis longliners

Interactions were part of doing business -- Fishermen seemed used to it

Anecdotal information from NOAA PIRO Observer Program on marine debris encounters at sea

Fisheries Observer Partnership - Economic Impact to Longline Fishing Industry in Hawaii?Lack of data and informationTypes of impacts? Downtime?Damage to gear? to vessel?Fishing effort/time lost?What is the COST?NOAA PIRO Observer Program

Data Collection ProcessMarine Debris Encounter Reports filled out & submitted by observersData entered into spreadsheet (encounter ID # assigned)Photos collectedData analyzedGOAL: quantified economic impact to Hawaiis longline fishery

Preliminary Results

Biota Type - on or living in net#%Fish 2012.99%Crustaceans3120.13%Encrusting organisms2818.18%NONE7548.70%154

Chart1

0.8372093023

0.0930232558

0.0465116279

0.023255814

Incident Type(as of 8/15/08)

Gear interaction84%

Vessel Interaction9%

Species Interaction/Entangled Spp Caught5%

Other or Noteworthy Sightings2%

ALL_ObsvrProg

Pacific Islands Regional Office - Observer Program"--" indicates field left blank on MDERBLUE: Interesting comments

Marine Debris Encounter ReportGI = Gear interactionRED: Unsure from report

NOAA PIFSC Non-disclosure statement (NOAA Administrative Order 216-000) must be signedVI = Vessel Interaction"--" = Left blank

if you will be viewing, accessing, using this information.SI = Species Interaction

O = Other

#Encounter ID #Trip NumberLatLongDateTimeIncident TypeAbbreviated incident typeDescription of object & materialsDebris Type (from Description & Narrative)Biota on/entangled in debris?Weight (est.) LBSWeight (est.) KGPhotos?Debris brought on board?Length of downtime (hrs)Estimated cost of downtimeNarrativeMDP has photos? / NOTES

1MD1423LL26451956'N15413'W11/29/07NoneMainline fouledGIRectangular box shape approximately 3-4 m long by 2 m wide by 2 m deep. Haze gray color with black wavy lines spray painted on sides. Plexiglass bubble located on top near one end. Appeared to be anchored. No lights or markings visible to indicate ownerLarge boxNo info1000+453.59Yes (4)No4.00UnsureThis item was the cause of mainline breaking twice on this trip. First occurrence was on 11/28/07 during haul back. Item was sighted but photos would not come out. On 11/29/07 mainline broke again early in the afternoon and during haul back, item was fY

5MD1465-3LL2687-33457'N15106'W12/25/0711:56Gear (float) fouledGI+/- 14 ft., 2 inch twisted sissal rope; +/- 8 ft. 2 inch black nylon rope; miscellaneous seine nets from 1/2 inch eye to 5 inch eye in varying colors.Net, ropesNo info100.0045.36YesYes0.70BlankDebris attached to float +/- 104 on shallow set (swordfish) longline vessel Lady Christine II. Crew disentangled from float and line and kept on board for removal after docking.Y

10MD1474LL26963558'N14723'W12/28/07morningEntanglement - sharkSIDark green colored net; Cords are plastic, with some filamentous algae growing on it; Size of mesh is approx. 7.5cm bar, diameter of netting cord is approx. 1.5mmNetNONE----YesYes----Shark was landed and netting was removed by observer. Observer reported that netting was cutting into shark's skin some.Y

3MD1465-1LL2687-13547'N15117'W12/29/0713:26Net on float and lineGINets and ropes of varying sizes attached to float with aluminum pot, cloth, and burlap articles.Net and ropes; aluminum pot, cloth, burlapNo info100.0045.36YesYes0.30BlankDuring the haul on a shallow set fishing vessel for swordfish; debris attached; float and line brought aboard for disposal at dockside.Y

7MD1465-5LL2687-53557'N15122'W12/29/077:51Fouled gear - net on hook and main lineGIApproximately 10' x 20' black seine 3: net attached to branchline and mainlineNetNONE10.004.54YesYes0.40BlankDuring the haul on a shallow set fishing vessel for swordfish; debris attached to branchline and mainline of haul; was brought aboard vessel and kept for disposal; There was no biota attached.Y

9MD1473LL26953701.3'N14548.3'W12/30/079:13Gear fouledGI / SIWidth: 63 cm; Length: 2m; Netting grey and olive; squares approx. 1cm2; No biotaNetNONE2.000.91YesYesNANANetting was lodged in pulley but extracted in secondsY

4MD1465-2LL2687-23600'N15146'W1/5/0815:50Fouled hookGI4" double braided rope (approx. 20') and 3 inch seine netting.Net, ropesNo info5.002.27YesYesBlankBlankDuring the haul on a shallow set fishing vessel for swordfish; debris attached; branchline and hook; Stuck; brought aboard for disposal at dockside.Y

6MD1465-4LL2687-43605'N15141'W1/6/0815:48Fouled float and lineGI2 inch and 1 inch twisted rope with varying size of seine nets.Net, ropesNo info10.004.54YesYesBlankBlankDuring the haul on a shallow set fishing vessel for swordfish; debris attached; float and line brought aboard for disposal at dockside.Y

2MD1451LL26732530'N15958'W1/12/0820:40Gear fouledGIGreen net, diameter unknown, 2 meters in width, about 20 meters in length, a couple of fish thats name is unknown to me.Netfish600+272.16YesYes0.16BlankNoneY

19MD1486-4LL2708-43417'N15349'W1/17/089:40Net hooked on branchlineGI~4 x 3 ft.- green net with small amount of thin monofilament- been adrift for some time, but no biota- 1 photoNetNONE3.001.36YesYes0.00$0.00--Y

20MD1487-1LL2709-13411'N14826'W1/20/0816:20Netting on mainlineGILarge mass of netting - breen, blue, black, orange, yellow - appears to have been compossed of many separate debris which have collected in the water; usual biota - crustaceans, crabs, pollups. A small buoy, plastic cover, and pla