Pacific Trash Vortex! Wow! I had no idea it was this bad!

[Shaka Doug]

Drew's been blogging lately with the help of his wife Jamie (Thanks Jamie!). He says he will be back on Oahu soon for just a couple of days for a quick repair to some equipment and re-provisioning. He reported today that they found plastic and they also found plastic in the digestive tract of a mahi mahi they caught out there. Here's the text from his latest post.

You can read it all (and I suggest you do) at www.trashvoyage.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 14 We Found Plastic!!!

June 23rd 2009
Position:
23 Deg 07.34 min. North
149 Deg 55.77.min West
Approx 450 Northeast of Hawaii.

Currently we are sailing wing and wing downwind on a direct heading to Oahu, Hawaii. Yesterday was a good day despite all that happened with the Manta Trawl (BBMT) because we achieved one of our objectives of this voyage.....

One aspect of the danger of plastic in the ocean is the ingestion of plastic by fish that we humans are consuming. I don’t think I need to explain the consequences and negative impact of "plastic" fish! That has been one of the objectives of this voyage is to prove plastics are moving their way up the food chain. So while we sail from test area to test area, we set fishing lines out to see if we can catch some additional food for the crew, talk about fresh fish! Also to get "sample" fish to dissect to see if this theory can be documented.

Well yesterday we hooked two Mahi Mahi, also known as dolphin-fish or dorado, they are surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. While Christiana (the on-board scientist) was doing her dissection and collection of tissue samples for toxin testing, she also inspects the digestive tract of both fish. In the smaller 5 lb fish she found some suspect material that was later confirmed by microscopic inspection to be a piece of plastic.

Now it cannot be determined whether the plastic was ingested directly by the fish or through the consumption of a smaller fish it ate. Most likely the Mahi Mahi ate the plastic it's self, thinking it was food because there were no obvious remains of a previous meal, like a smaller fish. The entire dissection and discovery of the plastic was documented on video so we are pretty pleased with ourselves today!!!!

Now I’m going to take a moment to respond to some Face Book comments from all my FB friends following my blog. Your comments are being relayed to me from by my awesome "land support" team of 1 (and she happens to be my beautiful wife too!). So please keep posting your comments and questions. It's great to know you are all out there!!! So here's an answer to one of the questions posted by a few people....

It was regarding the growth on the plastic debris and questioning if it wouldn’t be a better idea to allow the "colonies" to remain as an ecosystem. This is a good topic, because initially one would think if it attracts growth then it’s a good thing, but 3 main factors must be taken into account.

1. Plastic has been proven to contain and further absorb toxins, so the dangers of allowing organisms to attach and grow on potentially toxic material would not be beneficial.

2. Another issue is, natural floating ecosystems have a finite lifespan due to decomposition and degradation by the elements, sun, water, wave action etc. Plastic objects last much longer, causing the potential for marine life and organisms to travel well outside their normal range of existence/territory, therefore altering the natural process of species expansion. Last voyage we found a fish living inside a floating plastic square, crate like bucket. That fish when we found, it was 2,500 miles from its natural habitat. This could not have happened if the bucket been made of some other natural biodegradable material that would have deteriorated long before it traveled 2,500 miles.

3. And the most important, eventually all plastic in the ocean will break up to microscopic levels to either be ingested by marine life or become a molecular toxin to the water and eventually to us. So if its plastic…it’s got to get picked up and taken out before becoming part of the ecosystem and not in a good way. The main thing we should be working on is eliminating the unnecessary plastic from our society, like the "one use" trend for items and containers that is happening now. Plus we MUST properly disposing of the rest of the plastic so it stays out of our oceans.

Hope that helps clear up why we are removing the "ecosystems" that have plastic as it's "home base". So please think before you opt for the plastic when asked "Paper or plastic"! Better still, bring your own reusable bags!!! It's good to be green!!!!

Okay back to voyage.....

Winds have calmed to a pleasant 20 knots and the sun is out so we continue to cruise on to Hawaii, occasionally being visited by the random Black Footed Albatross....

They are very difficult to film from a moving boat deck…but I am getting better with each fly-by. Just a few more days and I'll be back on my wonderful slice of Paradise, Oahu, for a couple of days while we repair the BBMT (Beloved Busted Manta Trawl)...I'm all most there "land support team of one" Jamie!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks Drew! Keep up the good work!!

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

.. they also found plastic in the digestive tract of a mahi mahi they caught out there. ... consumption of a smaller fish it ate. Most likely the Mahi Mahi ate the plastic it's self, thinking it was food because there were no obvious remains of a previous meal, like a smaller fish.....
...

Or the mahimahi's stomach had completely dissolved a smaller fish which had eaten the plastic.

..... So please think before you opt for the plastic when asked "Paper or plastic"! Better still, bring your own reusable bags!!! It's good to be green!!!! ...

I always carry my shopping in a backpack.

One of my standard answers to offer of unwanted paper wrapping is the wellknown "Save a tree."; one of my standard answers to offer of unwanted plastic bags is "Save an oilwell.".

(Off-topic PS: if you are in reach of an industrial safety shop, I use workman's blowtorch goggles File:Blowtorching goggles and helmet.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia as sunglasses; they are much cheaper than fancy designer Raybans and suchlike, particularly the sort of blowtorch goggles that has one big rectangular pane. They have fixed clear windows with a dark tinted flip-up. They can easily be worn over spectacles. (Arc-welding goggles are too dark for use as sunglasses.))

 

[scubadrewvideo]

Aloha Ohana! We are in port in Kewalo Basin for a 3 day stop before heading to the dateline. We needed to stop for repairs to the Manta Trawl and Spinnikar. Mahalo to Shaka Doug for posting the blog entries. The more people like Doug help the get the word out, the more impact we can have on a solution. To read more about what we have seen and experienced or better yet what we have yet to experience...go to my blog. I am in Kahuku for the 3 days, but if you are in Kewalo and want to see the boat, we are the 50ft ORV Alguita, parked in the corner before the turn to the free parking area big white catamaran with the solar panels on the cabin roof and green sail bags...just past the dive boats. Capt. Charles Moore and rest of the crew are staying on board so stop by and show your support for this good cause...Everyone on board will be happy to answer any questions.

Or the mahimahi's stomach had completely dissolved a smaller fish which had eaten the plastic.
We are looking into the mahimahi digetsive tract timeline because of that very question, and the fact we found 3 mahimahi with as many as 3 juvi stripedbelly puffers in the stomach, and those fish were 600 miles from land...leaving us to question how long it takes to digest so where could those puffers have come from...and also how long does it take for a mahimahi to go 600 miles. anyone have any ideas?

 

[Shaka Doug]

I hope you folks have been following along on Drews Blog. Plastic in Ocean | Pacific Garbage Patch | Ocean Pollution.

They've been finding lots of plastic and they aren't even close to the center of the gyre yet. Please read his blog, look at his photos and spread the word about this problem. It's amazing that this journey is taking place and he is able to somehow upload the info to the internet from out in the middle of nowhere. It's remarkable indeed!

 

[Shaka Doug]

Below is the press release for the media conference with the Capt and crew of the ORV Alguita 2009 Pacific Exploration voyage to the International Dateline.

---------------Press Release---------------------

Oceanographic Research Vessel Alguita to arrive in Honolulu after 6,500 mile, 7-week Study of Plastic Debris in the Pacific
Date: Monday August 3rd, 2009
Time: 10 am to Noon
Location: Kewalo Basin E-Dock 1025 Ala Moana Blvd Honolulu, HI


Honolulu, Hawai’I - Ending a 7-week study of the accumulation of marine debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), the ORV Alguita and crew will dock at Oahu’s Kewalo Basin to share the results of their findings and prepare to launch the second part of this summer long research venture. The crew logged 379 pieces of debris collected at deck level along with over 50 trawl samples during the voyage.

Chartered by the Long Beach, CA based non-profit Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF), the ORV Alguita has logged over a decade of research at sea concerning the issue of marine pollution, more specifically the expansive issue of plastic pollution NPSG, a swirling vortex of ocean currents twice the size of the United States. The NPSG is housing a vast and growing plastic buildup, much like debris soup.


Headed by Captain Charles Moore, founder of AMRF, the Alguita left with a crew of 5 from Alamitos Bay in Long Beach, CA on June 10th. The crew consists of 3 southern California natives; first mate Jeffrey Ernst, icthyologist Christiana Boerger, research assistant and vessel blogger Nicole Chatterson and two Oahu residents, marine scientist and sailor Joel Paschal and videographer and sailor Drew “ScubaDrew” Wheeler.

The issue of the plastic soup was first brought to the mainstream with Algalita’s shocking published research showing that plastic outweighs zooplankton in areas of the Pacific by a factor of 6. Based on current research, Algalita scientists believe this number is growing.

The goal of the voyage was to expand the database on plastic pollution accumulation, with a specific goal of sampling as far east as the International Dateline, an imaginary line which splits the globe into the eastern and western hemispheres. This trip took the crew on a large circular route from Long Beach, to Oahu for a brief fuel up, and up through the doldrums into the NPSG along the International Dateline to a latitude of 41N, which is the point where the Pacific turns into the Bering Sea.

The issue of the growing Pacific plastic soup, commonly referred to as the “Eastern Garbage Patch” is multifaceted with impacts ranging from the ocean itself to the human food chain.
Beaches are polluted as the debris makes its way out of the gyre and back on land. This can be seen in several places throughout Hawai’i, like Oahu’s Kahuku Beach, the home of two-time crew member Drew Wheeler, or South Point on the Big Island. Oahu resident and two-time crewmember Joel Paschal points out, “Being located at the southern edge of the NPSG, Hawai’i beaches accumulate plastic marine debris from the gyre, much of which originates in Asia and North America.”

The course of the Alguita’s voyage covered much of the same ocean surface used as foraging grounds for Hawaiian born albatrosses. These birds scour the Pacific in search of food to bring back to young at nesting spots throughout the North West Hawaiian Islands. Too often the parents mistake floating debris--plastic fragments, lighters, toothbrushes even--as food, feeding to and eventually starving or choking their young.

The human health risk of the plastic ocean plague is of growing concern. Plastic has been found in the stomach-contents of fish commonly served in restaurants, such as a Rainbow Runner, and in smaller fish species like Laternfish which are preyed upon by bigger food fish like Mahi Mahi.


This is the research that vessel icthyologist Christiana Boerger has been conducting for the past year through quantifying the ingestion of plastic, primarily by Lanternfish, collected on 2007-2008 Alguita voyages. Plastic was found in 30% of these fish. Boerger identified two new species of fish with plastic in their stomach on this 7-week voyage, a sobering fact she hope will push people to change their consumption of superfluous plastic products.

As far as anyone can tell, there is no practical way to clean up the
NPSG plastic soup. The best solution is to do no more harm. “If we’re honest with ourselves,” Captain Moore states, “we have to admit that we are oppressed by our products. Too many of them don’t last, and require frequent, often unpredictable maintenance or replacement. We must take seriously the idea that we will have more quality time for ourselves with less stuff. The key is to focus on the first of the three R’s, REDUCE, and its corollary, SHARE. That is perhaps the most important lesson the plastic waste that fouls the ocean we just surveyed has taught us.”

The Alguita will have a slip at Kewalo Basin. If you are interested in learning more about our research or stopping by to check out the debris and trawl samples collected from the Gyre for yourself, please contant Holly Gray, Vessel Support Coordinator at vesselsupport@algalita.org <mailto:vesselsupport@algalita.org> or call 562-598-4889. You can also check out the vessel blog, Oceanographic Research Vessel Alguita <http://www.orvalguita.blogspot.com>, which chronicles the past 7 weeks of research.


About Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF): AMRF is a Long Beach-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of the
marine environment through research, education and restoration. Algalita was founded by Captain Charles Moore, who first put the plastic soup problem on the map.

Information: (562) 598-4889 or Algalita Marine Research Foundation - Marine Research, Education and Restoration
Contact:
Marieta Francis, Executive Director
Algalita Marine Research Foundation
148 N Marine Dr.
Long Beach, CA 90803
562-598-4889
marieta@algalita.org

###

 

[Shaka Doug]

Drew is almost home everyone! Less than 200 miles to go!

www.trashvoyage.com

By the sounds of what he's been observing we need to take action RIGHT NOW!! Before it's too late.

I, for one, think we may already be headed for the tiipping point. Hardly anyone really even knows about this situation. We can try all we want to stop our little bit of littering but the undeveloped countries and careless polluters are still blazing away and turning our oceans into toxic soup. Remember folks... This is not only confined to the North Pacific Ocean...this is a world wide problem, it occurs in the Atlantic as well. If that's the case why should the Indian Ocean, South Pacific, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Arctic and Antarctic Oceans be any different?

Please take action. Spread the word. Stop using so much plastic. Since I got reusable shopping bags for my business I have hardly accepted any plastic bags from a store. That was almost too easy!!! And I personally can see the difference it makes in my waste stream.

Namaste'.

 

[scubadrewvideo]

Hey everyone, I am back on Oahu and glad to be on solid ground after almost 55 days at sea. Please check the blog to see the latest entries, but we are having a press conference day today from 10 am to Noon on the boat at Kewalo Basin! Look for the white Catamaran with all the debris tied to the shrouds.
Mahalo for all the support during this voyage, and stay in touch with the blog to see video clips as I get them together...now I can post video!!!

 

[justleesa]

Welcome Home Drew!!!

 

[scottitheduck]

Nice dude..... you are home just in time for a Hurricane! Welcome back brosef.

G

 

[S0ckm0nk3y]

Just ran across some good press for Drew's efforts from KHNL.

-Eric