Marine Debris in Jamaica Bay
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
The American Littoral Society is currently conducting shoreline cleanups and promoting source reduction efforts as part of a marine debris removal project:
Jamaica Bay Marine Debris Removal and Data-driven Prevention Pilot Project
This project is generously funded through the NOAA Restoration Center and the NOAA Marine Debris Program.
Our Partners in marine debris removal
We have been working with funders, partners, and volunteers to remove large marine debris since 2002.
Together we’ve removed hundreds of derelict vessels and other large debris.
Sandy greatly increased the amount of Marine Debris in Jamaica Bay and it’s surrounding water bodies.
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
Hazard to Navigation
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
Negative Effects of Large & Small Marine Debris
Injury to beachgoers
Toxic to the Environment
Entanglement of/Ingestion by Wildlife
Loss of Tourism Dollars
Expensive to Remove
Smothers Marshland
Over 600 derelict vessels, boat fragments, personal watercraft and docks/portions of docks were catalogued.
GPS CoordinatesMeasurementsDescriptions
Large Marine Debris Present As of March 2013
Large Marine Debris Removed Post Sandy
American Littoral Society
Big Egg Marsh/Broad Channel American ParkDubos Point
Spring CreekJamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
ACOE, JB Ecowatchers, NPS
Floyd Bennet FieldDead Horse BayPlum Beach
Motivated Volunteers
Marine Contractor Demolition Contractors
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
Large marine debris
removal can be difficult
and expensive
Over 180,000 pounds of large debris has been removed from Jamaica Bay since 2010.
“Current” Map of Large Debris
133 Boats/Personal Watercrafts 132 Boat Fragments/Engines 171 Docks/Portions of Docks
Sunk or Relocated by TidesHidden by VegetationBuried by SandRemoved by Other Organizations
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
Vessels should be maintained and disposed of properly.
Department of Sanitation
Donating to charitySome charities accept donated
boats and will even pick them up from you
For $20.00 the DOS will accept a boat at it’s facilities in Brooklyn as long as the fluids have been removed and the person
dropping off the boat has ownership papers. Call (718) 642-4290
before 3pm to arrange for disposal.
Spread the word!
Prevention is Important
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has defended the coast from harm and empowered others to do the same.
The New York State Beach Cleanup
We have been organizing the annual International Coastal Cleanup in New York State since 1986.
In 2014 we had 6,891 volunteers at 248 sites
Volunteer’s document on data cards the kinds of debris they remove.
Together they removed 46 tons of debris.
The data is sent to the Ocean Conservancy for analysis. The resultant studies produce strategies to
reduce marine debris at the source.
60 to 80% of marine debris is made up of plastic. According to the Ocean Conservancy’s data, most of the top ten items
collected during the 2013 International Coastal Cleanup were PLASTIC.
Pla sticBott
les
Cigarette
Butts
(with
plastic
filters)
Food Wrappers
Plasti
c Bott
le Ca
psStraws,
Stirrers
Plastic Grocery Bags
Glass Beverage Bottles
Other Plastic Bags
Paper
Bags
Beverage
Cans
2,043,470
1,685,422
940.170
847.9
72
555,007
441,493
394.796
389,088368,746
339,170SODA
PRETZELSW
ATER
Sandwich Bag
XXX
Plastic Contains Toxins
TOXINS are released
into water as the plastic
breaks down into ever smaller pieces.
“Disposable” plastic items
can take HUNDREDS of years or
more to disappear from the
environment.
If we don’t do something, the ocean may look like this or worse!
Plastic already out numbers plankton by a wide margin.
WAT
ER
Beve
rage
Take Out Food
Beve
rage
PRETZELS
SODACANDY
CHIPS
WAT
ERW
ATER
The more garbage you produce, the more likely it is that some of it will find its way to the ocean.
Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Restrict, Resist, Refrain
Each year, an estimated 38,000,000,000 plastic bottles are incinerated or sent to landfills in the U.S. That averages out to more than 730 million bottles each week. That means that each week we discard more bottles then it takes to circle the earth.
It takes the
equivalent of 3 liters of water to produce just one
liter of bottled water
17 million barrels of oil are used to supply
the U.S with plastic bottles
each year.
Alm
ost 5
0% of U
S
Bottled wate
r can co
st
thousands of ti
mes
more than ta
p wate
r.
$
$
$
$
Once a plastic bottle is opened, bacteria can
grow quickly unless the bottle is refrigerated.
WATERWATER
WATER
WATER WATER
WATERWATER
WATERWATER
WATER
WATERWATER WATER WATERWATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATERWATER WATER WATER
wateris
filteredtap
water
really
Say Goodbye to Single-use Items.
Beverage
Tissues
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
Paper
Towels
Find Reusable Alternatives
STOP
Our beaches are covered with
single-use items
Buying and utilizing
reusable items save
money
In New York alone, we use approximately 5.2 billion carryout bags per year.
That amount of bags, laid end to end, w
ould reach to the moon and back.
Plastic bags harm marine animals through both ingestion and entanglement
NO YES
BYOB
Don’t Toss Your Butts – They Are Toxic
Cigarette filters are
plastic. They are not
biodegradable
5,000,000,000tossed away
worldwide
Laboratory tests found that the chemicals from just one cigarette butt had the ability to kill fish living in a one-liter bucket of water.
Cigarettes Pollute
Your Lungsthe Air
And the Water
They break up into tiny
pieces that can be eaten by marine lifeSpread the Word!
# 1 Item on
Beaches
In U.S
Most people do not realize the damage that releasing balloons can cause to wildlife.
REFRAIN:Don’t Let Go Of Balloons
There are more Eco-friendly ways you can celebrate instead,but be sure not to leave anything behind that is not organic!
Fly a kite
Blow bubbles
Plant nati
ve
flowersLight a candle
(and put it out.)
Many fishing areas have recycling bins for used fishing line and some ports now accept old nets and traps and recycle them.
Dispose of Unwanted Fishing Line and Gear Properly
Dead and dying Terrapins are frequently found in abandoned
fishing gear and birds and other creatures are often entangled in fishing line,
ropes and nets.
Abandoned Fishing Gear Kills Endangered Marine
Mammals and Turtles
Encourage fisherman to dispose of unwanted fishing gear properly.
Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Restrict & Refrain Whenever Possible
And Help The Ocean Look Like This!