Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Groundbreaking JUNK News: Plastic Sushi

We remember seeing little 1-inch fish with yolk sacks still attached swimming next to JUNK 5 weeks ago. They followed our raft, enjoying the security of its undulating underbelly with nooks and crannies to hide in. They would ride what little bow wake JUNK created, and at times keeping up with the raft at 3 knots. Now they are a foot long, with yellow stripes, and there are fewer of them.

This morning I awoke to find two thumb-size flying fish on board. They became bait and soon I had one of the yellow fish on deck. I cut two fillets out of it and then opened it’s stomach. It was full of plastic. A dozen large fragments, and nothing else, filled the tiny stomach to capacity. There is no way this fish, at this size, will be able to pass those fragments.


These plastic particles, including one pre-production plastic pellet, are sinks for several persistent organic pollutants. PCBs, DDT and PAHs from the incomplete burning of fossils fuels, absorb into plastic marine debris, making the particles toxic. From the size of the particles inside the stomach, and the size of the fish’s cloaca, there is no way this fish can pass the plastic through its body. Therefore there will likely be a long residence period. Will the toxins in the plastic leach into the tissues of the fish?

This question about migration of toxins into the fisheries we harvest is the question we want to know now. Is plastic marine debris a vector for pollutants to enter the food chain and eventually your dinner plate?

To date, 267 species have been known to ingest or be entangled by plastic. Captain Charles Moore recently discovered #268, the 2-4 inch nocturnal lantern fish. Half of the specimens collected had plastic in their guts. One even had 84 individual fragments. Our fish, #269, adds to the list of marine organisms impacted by manmade synthetic compounds.

Please check out our website to see what research we are conducting on plastic in the marine environment. In the meantime, can anyone identify this fish to the species level? Read more!

Jack Johnson Foundation and JUNK press!

A few exciting bits of recent media for Algalita and JUNK:

Algalita was chosen to be a partner for Jack Johnson's All At Once campaign, joining people from around the world who are active in their communities, to inspire and create positive change.



From now until September 14th, any donation sent to Algalita will be matched by the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation - up to $2500. And every time viewers watch our video on the website (currently featuring JUNK), AMRF receives a donation.

And on the media front, JUNK has received some wonderful recent press as the ETA approaches - yesterday's Honolulu Star Bulletin ran a great article on the JUNK - Roz meetup, and the Honolulu Advertiser also plugged the arrival.

And Joel's home town paper in Lafayette also ran an article. The word is spreading far and wide.

This was, and continues to be our ultimate goal: to draw attention to Algalita's critical research on plastic debris, and get people talking about solutions. The growing accumulation of plastic in our oceans may well have devastating impacts on marine ecosystems - impacts we are only just beginning to understand. Our window for addressing this problem will disappear unless we have greater public awareness, enlightened leadership, and engaged citizens. We're all responsible. Read more!

Monday, August 18, 2008

The home stretch!

We crossed 500 two days ago, 400 this afternoon, and we expect to arrive in Honolulu in 8 more days. It definitely feels like the home stretch now. Maintenance is still paramount, but new projects are off the table. There are only standing watches and passing time left to do. We still drag the marine debris trawl behind us. Still, every sample is filled with small fragments of plastic debris.

Today, to celebrate the 400 mark, we had cheesecake. We've been hording a stock of freeze dried food that was given to us on the dock before we departed by a Dave, a volunteer for the project. "You might need these." Two and a half months later, you were absolutely right. And of course, thanks to Roz Savage we are enjoying a delightful assortment of dehydrated meals and Larabars. We often wonder where she is right now.

As I close this email there are 383 miles to go. At 1.7 knots, we should be enjoying pizza soon.

Meanwhile, plans are coming together for a wonderful arrival celebration, in collaboration with Roz Savage. Details to come for all the Hawaii folks.

Read more!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

PSA #7: Cleaning this mess up?

A few days ago, CNN ran a wonderful article on JUNK in their science blogs section, "The Pacific toilet bowl that never flushes".

After describing the problem of plastic debris in the gyre, CNN producer Marsha Walton concludes with a public call for suggestions:

"So, any ideas from the brains of our astute blog readers? How would you fix this? Outlaw single use plastic items? Push for plastics that biodegrade? Put a litter cop on every ocean-going vessel? Teach your kids to respect the planet?"

So far her query has elicited 116 responses! Everything from getting fleets of fishing boats to trawl for trash, to demanding UN involvement, to curbing our production of plastics. And more (for a full list, read the post)

The suggestion of netting, scooping, or trawling out the plastic is often posed.....unfortunately its simply not a feasible option, yet. Too big an area, and the debris far too difuse. Here's Marcus on why cleanup is impractical:

Read more!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Video from JUNK's Roz Savage meetup

Read more!