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Tracking Trash: An Analysis of Marine Debris from the Olympic Coast Clean-up
Summary
This analysis of data from the Olympic Coast cleanup program in Washington State established baselines for marine debris trends from 2009-2012 and compared them with 2013 cleanup data, finding that both tsunami debris and local plastic debris caused harm to marine species through ingestion, entanglement, and seafloor accumulation. The work highlights how coastal cleanup monitoring can track long-term debris trends and the ecological impacts of plastic pollution events.
Washington coast beaches during annual cleanup events. WWU researchers used historical data from 2009-2012 provided by the Washington CoastSavers to establish a baseline for common marine debris trends and compared these baselines with cleanup data obtained from the 2013 CoastSavers cleanup and WWU in-depth assessments of debris removed from four beaches during this 2013 event. Debris from the tsunami, like debris from local sources, can have a significant impact on marine species. Noteworthy harmful effects of certain debris types, including polystyrene on marine biota include ingestion, entanglement, and accumulation along the ocean floor and surface. Debris from the tsunami event can have added impacts as tsunami debris has been suspended in the water for multiple years and can harbor invasive species.