To The Ocean Futures Community:
I was recently given the honor of presenting the keynote address at the 4th Annual International Marine Debris Conference, held in Honolulu, Hawai'i, sponsored by the Hawaiian Humpback National Marine Sanctuary. The meeting addressed the problem of derelict fishing gear and identified ways to address this problem throughout the Pacific region.
 Since 1972, divers have found 170 endangered Hawaiian monk seals entangled in nets. Twenty-two were found in 1999 alone. Photo Courtesy of: U.S. Coast Guard |
One of the things that impressed me most about this gathering was the active involvement of twenty students from different Pacific Island nations. I came away from the experience with a sense of hope and renewal because these ambassadors of the environment were given educational tools they can use to make better decisions about the future protection of our water planet.
The meeting produced a Participant's Declaration Of Resolve the highlights of which may be viewed here.
Early this fall, Ocean Futures will take a hands-on approach to studying the problem of marine debris in the field. Research Coordinator Jen Schorr will be representing OFS as a participant on a multi-agency marine debris survey and removal cruise to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. We will keep you updated on the marine debris data collected from this Pacific Ocean region in the near future; check back here for reports on this subject.
While derelict fishing gear is a major threat to marine life in Hawaiian waters and elsewhere, it is only one of many forms of harmful marine pollution. It happens to be something of particular importance to us, because we can touch it and can see it on the water, beneath it and washed up on shore. We can also see its immediate, devastating effect on sea life, which becomes entangled in this "web of death."
However, we must equally consider the impact of toxic wastes: invisible, silent killers, intangible to our senses. They are dumped into the water system and ultimately flow to the ocean as runoff, where they move through the food chain and concentrate in the tissues of top consumers, such as killer whales. The problem of organotoxins may be more difficult to resolve than physically clearing marine debris from the places it collects, because it is widely distributed and difficult, if not impossible, to remove from hiding places in the ocean and its inhabitants. We may be more successful in preventing this problem in the first place by providing clear information on the role we play in land-water cycle interactions. And, the sooner we educate young people about this, the better our defenses may be for "turning the tide" on trash and toxic wastes in the future.
There are simple things you can do right now, like reducing or eliminating the use of garden pesticides, which can eventually make their way from many miles upstream, down to the sea. Proper disposal of waste motor oil (not pouring it into your street gutter!), and purchasing products that do not involve the production, use or release of toxic chemicals, such as organic foods and household cleaning products, are great preventative first steps you can take right now.
 Derelict fishing gear, marine debris, made up mostly of natural fiber and synthetic lines washed up on a single beach in Kahuku on O`ahu's north shore. Photo Courtesy of: NOAA |
You can also personally make a difference by participating in International Coastal Clean-Up Day on September 16, 2000, sponsored by the Center for Marine Conservation. On this one day, you will be joining millions of children and adults, from all walks of life, all over the world, engaged in a simultaneous, hands-on beach clean-up activity. Participating in this massive effort physically demonstrates the power we have as human beings to learn about, clean up and restore our coastal environments.
In 1998, nearly a half-million people from 74 countries, collected five million pounds of marine debris on land; over a half a million individuals collected over five million pounds from underwater! I hope this information provides a call to action on September 16th and, each and every day you spend at the beach or in the water.
Thank you for allowing me to share with you Ocean Futures' marine debris activities. I will be thinking of you on International Coastal Clean-up Day.*
Respectfully yours,
Jean-Michel Cousteau
President, Ocean Futures
*PS: On September 16, I will be in Saint-Andre de Cubzac, a small town near the coast of France, the birthplace of my father, Jacques Yves Cousteau. I will be there for the dedication of a statue in his honor. He would be pleased to know that on this special day, you and millions of others, will be working together to restore dignity and beauty to the sea!
Click here to read the transcript from the 4th Annual International Marine Debris Conference.
