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Artwork by Sophie W. (Grade 8, Michigan), winner of the Annual NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest.
Congratulations to the student winners of the Annual NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest! We received hundreds of colorful, fun, and informative entries from around the country, and although we wish we could showcase them all, we are excited to share the winners of this year’s contest with you.
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Blue crab zoea larvae, each smaller than a grain of rice (Photo: Jonathan Cohen, University of Delaware).
As warm weather returns, tiny blue crabs will begin to hatch along the Atlantic coast, travelling to the open ocean before they return to coastal estuaries and bays. Our partners at the University of Delaware are working to answer important questions about the ways these small animals interact with even smaller pieces of plastic out in the open ocean, if microplastics impact their ability to survive, and how fisheries might also be affected.
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A bucket of shotgun wads collected at Drakes Beach in December 2019 (Photo: Kate Bimrose).
At sites around the San Francisco Bay and the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, shotgun wads are a problematic and surprisingly common type of marine debris that can be difficult to recover. Our partners at the Sanctuary and Greater Farallones Association are taking on this challenge to prevent marine debris by working with hunters and encouraging proper disposal of shotgun wads.
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Professor Nicole Fahrenfeld deploys a net for microplastics sampling (Photo: Robert Chant, Rutgers University).
Microplastics in the ocean are a growing problem, but how do they get there? Our partners at Rutgers University are working to answer questions about how microplastics move from urban areas into the ocean, and if they are eaten by tiny microscopic animals on the way.
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A juvenile steelhead trout in the lab at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (Photo: Dr. Andrew Wargo, Virginia Institute of Marine Science).
Does marine debris impact the immune systems of wildlife? Our partners at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are working to answer this question and more by studying how ingesting microplastics affects steelhead trout, a species important for both the environment and fisheries.
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Samples from the Los Angeles River (Photo: Samiksha Singh, University of California, Riverside).
How many microplastics are entering the ocean from rivers, and where do they go once they get there? Our partners at the University of California, Riverside are working to answer these questions and more by monitoring and modelling the movement of microplastics in urban areas of Southern California.
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