File:Coast watch (1979) (20471410490).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_7 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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gram have worked to establish funding, cooperative agreements and regional programs and initiatives aimed at pro- viding cost-effective methods for han- dling vessel debris. In many cases, individual vessel operators choose to ignore the restric- tions of the international treaty, claiming they don't have adequate equipment, space or personnel to hold or dispose of their wastes properly. Others claim ig- norance. Positively, however, many collectively owned vessels, such as cruise liners and shipping vessels, are being forced by company policy to ad- here to MARPOL Annex V. In some cases, these companies are financing new technology to handle shipboard wastes. Despite the feel-good reward of doing the right thing, there are few in- centives for vessel compliance and vir- tually no repercussions for noncompli- ance. Enforcement responsibility rests with the ratifying country, and in virtu- ally all countries this enforcement is cursory. Worldwide, coastal cities are a major land-based source of ocean litter. Urban debris washes off city streets, overflows from waste treatment plants during heavy rains and drains from industries. The debris varies from the cigarette filter tossed on the sidewalk to the plastic tampon applicator improperly flushed down the bathroom toilet to resin pellets used in the manufacture of plastic. If little is done to enforce waste restrictions, then survey methods must be developed to link the debris that washes ashore with its source. In the case of debris items such as foam cups and beverage cans, the sources are ubiq- uitous. But other items can be tenta- tively linked to their sources. Salt bags, bait boxes, fish baskets and net floats are associated with com- mercial fishing. Small containers of toiletries, shoe polish and plastic cups are indicative of cruise line garbage. Hard hats and plastic write protection rings used in seismic testing are char- acteristic of the offshore petroleum industry. And other debris — wooden pallets, plastic sheeting and galley wastes such as vegetable sacks and egg cartons — are used by many oceangoing vessels and typically cat- egorized as ship debris. But making these linkages re- quires more than speculation. Sound data are needed from beach surveys, observer programs and surveillance efforts to directly connect debris to its source. Only then can resource manag- ers begin the effort to educate and regulate specific segments of the mari- time industry. Urban Sources Urban means city, city means people, and people mean trash. Add an adjacent ocean to the equation, and trash means marine debris. Worldwide, coastal cities are a major land-based source of ocean litter. Urban debris washes off city streets, overflows from waste treatment plants during heavy rains and drains from in- dustries. The debris varies from the cigarette filter tossed on the sidewalk to the plastic tampon applicator improperly flushed down the bathroom toilet to resin pellets used in the manufacture of plastic. Unfortunately, despite the techno- logical and educational efforts of gov- ernments, many of these debris items ultimately drain into coastal waters where they form floating webs of wastes or wash ashore to mar beaches. Continued COASTWATCH I 1

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