5 Gyres - Understanding Plastic Pollution Through Exploration, Education, and Action

We woke this morning to see the faint, dark outline of Rapa Nui, “Easter Island” barely visible against the pre-dawn horizon. After 2 ½ weeks at sea, it’s difficult to describe the pure joy of seeing land for the first time, knowing that a fresh salad, warm waves, cold drinks, and island exploration are just within reach.

With this arrival, The 5 Gyres Institute completes the first leg of the world’s first expedition to study plastic pollution in the South Pacific Gyre. We set out not knowing what we would find - an ocean relatively free of plastic pollution, or one covered with a thin, confetti of plastic particles? Though it will take some time to analyze our ocean samples, we have seen enough to know that plastic pollution is definitely present in this part of the world.

For the first 10 days, the samples we collected by skimming the ocean’s surface with a fine meshed plankton net yielded only a few plastic fragments here and there. But as we approached the center of the gyre, they looked more like this: more plastic than living organisms.


Our goal with these expeditions is to document this environmental plague – increasing amounts of plastic debris floating in our ocean waters, threatening marine wildlife, trashing shorelines of remote islands around the world, and potentially posing a health threat for humans. Quiksilver Foundation has been with us every step of the way, first supporting our voyage across the North Atlantic Gyre last winter, continuing on as we launched another first – the first plastic pollution research expedition across the South Atlantic Gyre last fall, and seeing us through this final gyre in the Southern Hemisphere - the South Pacific.

Now that we’re back on land, having documented plastic pollution in the world’s 5 subtropical gyres, we’re eager to get more involved in land-based solutions: this is where the problem starts. And this is why were proud of our partnerships with companies like Quiksilver, who are open to examining their own plastic footprint, and finding new ways to refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle. The journey continues with the arrival yesterday of Jess Cramp, our newest crew member and representative of Roxy, Quiksilver’s female line. Jess will be documenting the second stage of the South Pacific Expedition, from Easter Island to Tahiti, where she’ll orchestrate a few beach cleanups, and connect with local NGOs to share what she’s learned. Stay tuned for her updates from the western edge of the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre!