Center Turns Cape Cod Ocean Debris Into Art

Cape Cod News editorial staff

Unique Shark Helps Celebrate World Oceans Day

What is the World Ocean Day celebration?

World Ocean Day is being celebrated by the National Park Service and the Center for Coastal Studies at Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown on June 8, 2023 at 11am.

This event will feature the unveiling of the shark sculpture Mama Shug, constructed with marine debris. The project is an attempt to bring awareness to the challenge of plastic and marine debris in the marine environment.



What is Marine Debris?

In February of 2020, Lower Cape News highlighted the problem of Marine Debris and so- called Ghost Gear.

Ghost gear litters our oceans worldwide and is fast becoming an increasing challenge for Cape Cod fishermen and scientists alike.

Collecting trash on the beach is one thing, but counting it ends up being much more than you would think.  Marine Debris & Plastics Coordinator at the Center for Coastal Studies, Laura Ludwig has made it her mission to gather data from beach clean ups in an effort to tell stories that can make a difference.

Lower Cape News spoke with Ludwig in 2021 about the process of gathering data on marine debris.



What is Being Done?

In November of 2021, The Gulf of Maine Association was awarded $367,839 from NOAA's Marine Debris Program to partner with NOAA, the Center for Coastal Studies, Urban Harbors Institute, Gulf of Maine Council, Blue Ocean Society for the Marine Environment, Huntsman Marine Science Centre, Maine Coastal Program - Maine Department of Resources, Surfrider Foundation and the five jurisdictions bordering the Gulf of Maine to create an international collaborative approach for addressing plastic and other marine debris in the Gulf of Maine watershed.

See what this will mean for Cape Codders.

The Center for Coastal Studies and community volunteers completed the seventh annual Outer Cape Clean-up. Over the course of the four-day program, participants picked-up 500 lbs of trash and other debris from National Seashore beaches between Eastham and Provincetown.

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