Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thank you, John Hancock!

The employees from John Hancock in Portsmouth cleaned up Jenness Beach last night, Wednesday June 29th. A total of 115 pounds of marine debris was removed from the beach! The trash filled up the whole trunk of my car:


The rope and fishing line were then taken to the NH Marine Debris to Energy project dumpster at Rye Harbor.





Learn more about this program at http://cecf1.unh.edu/debris/index.cfm and check out our upcoming cleanup schedule at http://blueoceansociety.org/Research/schedule.html .

Monday, June 27, 2011

Beach Cleanup at Jenness Beach, 6/29


If you're looking for a chance to help the marine environment this week, join us at our monthly beach cleanup this Wednesday, June 29, 6:30 PM at Jenness Beach in Rye! We'll provide all supplies, although volunteers are encouraged to bring their own work gloves and/or reusable bags so that we use less disposables. You can find more information on this cleanup, and other upcoming cleanups here.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Salisbury Beach clean-up

Thank you to the team of volunteers from Citrix Systems who cleaned Salisbury beach on Thursday, June 16th! We had a beautiful day and picked up 34 pounds of trash!












If you'd like to join us for a beach cleanup, check out our schedule of upcoming events: http://blueoceansociety.org/Research/schedule.html

We will also gladly schedule a cleanup for a group of 10 or more people!

Thanks again to the Citrix employees - hopefully you can join us for another cleanup this summer!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

NH Sea Grant/UNH Cooperative Extension and Blue Ocean Society Take Steps to Reduce Marine Debris


The NH Sea Grant and Blue Ocean Society have joined together to create the Marine Debris to Energy Project in an effort to reduce the amount of debris that is either thrown away as waste or ends up in the marine environment. One of the debris materials that the project is focusing on is monofilament fishing line. Fishing line takes up to 600 years to decompose and can have many negative impacts on a variety of marine wildlife when improperly disposed of in the environment. Hundreds of fish, birds and even land animals are harmed every year due to entanglement. When wildlife become entangled in or ingest monofilament, it can result can be the loss of the animal’s flippers, tails, or wings and can cause drowning, starvation, and death. Boat propellers can even get entangled in discarded monofilament line, causing costly repairs for boat owners.

To effectively address the issue of monofilament fishing line, NH Sea Grant and the Blue Ocean have directed efforts on collaborating with charter fishing companies, marinas, and bait and tackle shops in Portsmouth, Rye, Seabrook and Hampton. These businesses have been asked to participate by allowing collection bins to be placed at marinas, shops, or directly on fishing vessels. Any excess or used monofilament fishing line can be thrown into the collection bins rather than being tossed in the trash or left at risk of entering the environment. When the collection bins have been filled they are picked up by organization staff members so that the monofilament fishing line can be recycled. The project is cost free to anyone who chooses to participate. If you would like to learn more information about the project please visit the NH Marine Debris to Energy Project website: http://cecf1.unh.edu/debris/.

In addition to the project created by NH Sea Grant and the Blue Ocean Society, another program, the Stow It – Don’t Throw It Project has been created by Sean Russell. This project works with youth to create and distribute personal-sized monofilament fishing line recycling bins as a way to reduce marine debris. More information on the Stow It – Don’t Throw It Project can be found at http://www.stowitdontthrowitproject.org/index.html.

Locations of Current Monofilament Collection Bins:
Reel Job
Hampton River Marina
Hampton, NH
5 Gallon Bucket
N 42° 54 10/W 70° 49 04

Shoals Fly Fishing and Light Tackle
Wentworth By the Sea Marina
New Castle, NH
5 Gallon Bucket
N 43° 03 31.3/W 70° 43 39.6

The Chandlers Loft
7 Pickering Ave.
Portsmouth, NH
PVC Container
N 43° 04 25.7/W 70° 44 56.9

Great Bay Marine
61 Beane Lane
Newington, NH
PVC Container
N 43° 06 55.3/W 70° 50 05.4

Reel Ecstasy
Great Bay Marine
Newington, NH
5 Gallon Bucket
N 43° 06 57.2/W 70° 50 08.0

Wentworth By The Sea Marina
116 Morgans Way
New Castle, NH
PVC Container
N 43° 03 31.0/W 70° 43 39.3

Rye Harbor
Harbor Rd.
Rye, NH
PVC Container
N 43° 00 06.6/W 70° 45 06.3

Friday, June 10, 2011

Beach Cleanups Saturday 6/11


Want to join a beach cleanup tomorrow (Saturday, 6/11)? We have a couple opportunities for you to do so!

  • North Hampton Beach, North Hampton, NH: hosted by Friends of North Hampton Beach, 8 AM. Details here
  • Short Sands Beach, York, ME: hosted by Gentiques, 9 AM. Details here
Marine debris such as straws, cigarette butts, plastic, rope, and fishing line can be hazardous to marine life. If you can give even an hour of your time, you can make a huge difference!

If you can't make it this weekend, you can see a list of more upcoming cleanups on Blue Ocean Society's web site here. Hope to see you soon!