OCEAN CARE: Making Research Happen
By Anna Cummins on April 09, 2011
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The Sea Dragon is a 72ft mono-hulled sailboat designed for racing around the world, but in the gyre we slow her down to 2 knots to deploy our trawls. We have two that are towed from spinnaker poles on either side of the boat. One is collecting samples for research, and the other to share. We give samples to educators and legislators, and every once and a while an organization, like Ocean Care, steps up to sponsor a trawl. For a small donation to our research, we will do some research for you, and send you a sample of what we find. Ocean Care has sponsored three trawls. They will use them in their own programs to educate the public about the plastic pollution issue.
The first trawl for Ocean Care was conducted as we entered the accumulation zone of the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The second was collected in the center. Each produced half a teaspoon of plastic after trawling cumulatively an area smaller than a football field. The third will be collected in the weeks ahead as we sail from Easter Island to Tahiti, leaving the accumulation zone. We'll see what that trawl produces.
While we collect trawl samples for Ocean Care, we are collecting our research samples at the same time. By doing both, research and education, we have the best chance to reach a solution to the problem of plastic pollution. Any one can help. To find out about the "Sponsor a Trawl" or "Sponsor a Crew" programs, just click "Get Involved" to learn more.
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Tags
Plastic Pollution South Atlantic Gyre Ban The Bag Marine Debris Conference South Pacific Gyre South Pacific Garbage Patch Maximenko
