Debris highlights many ongoing marine issues
7/8/12
Grant Scott-Goforth Well before the predicted arrival of debris, a dock wrenched from Japan’s coast during last year’s tsunami washed up on an Oregon beach last month, highlighting the need for a coordinated response by local and state agencies.
While officials say there’s a slim chance tsunami debris arriving on local shores will reach the disaster level, there are environmental and safety concerns about the flotsam expected to wash up on North Coast beaches over the next several years. As scientists scramble to predict the impact that an estimated 1.5 million tons of debris could have on the North Coast, the state is encouraging public education, and other groups are planning cleanup efforts.
Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, said the state is in the process of assessing the problem to determine what level of response is needed. He said the Assembly is considering holding a hearing with involved agencies.
“At that point, we could decide if there’s legislation needed,” Chesbro said. “We have lots of questions and not many answers.” The California Emergency Management Agency, or CalEMA, has taken efforts to educate the public, coordinating with multiple agencies in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia to track the tsunami debris. The agencies have collaborated on a website, found online at disasterdebris.wordpress.com. CalEMA information officer Lori Newquist said that the agency is utilizing social media as much as they can to share information for little cost.
Oregon Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber announced last week that his state would be setting up a hotline, saying it’s an easy way for residents and visitors to report Japanese tsunami debris. The hotline can be reached by calling 211 within the state of Oregon. It will be staffed during business hours, and will take recorded messages at other times.
Washington state announced its own hotline this week.
Oregon has said it will work with California, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii to request money from the federal government to help with their efforts. If the debris had washed up all at once, it would unquestionably qualify for federal disaster funds, Kitzhaber said. But since it’s emerging in pieces, the states will have to work harder, he said.
There are also concerns about invasive species hitching a ride across the Pacific Ocean by clinging to items like the dock that washed ashore in Oregon.
Humboldt State University professor Sean Craig, who works in the university’s marine lab, said large debris could house numerous organisms that carry enough larva or spores to reproduce in local waters.
Craig said a Japanese alga — similar to the kind that appear in miso soup — could potentially edge out native kelp populations. The repercussions go beyond marine plants to fish and other sea life.
“There are multiple examples of invasive species that have cost people millions and millions of dollars,” Craig said.
Invasive species have long been a concern for marine biologists, and some regulations and precautions are taken, including special paints for boat hulls that repel organisms.
Items like the floating dock and debris pulled into the ocean from the mainland were never expected to be ocean bound, and don’t have those protective measures.
The disposal of general debris will likely fall to the public sector, with some government agencies and nonprofits expecting an increase in organized beach cleanup efforts.
Ocean Conservancy North Coast program coordinator Jennifer Savage said her organization will be focused on cleanups and education. “As far as cleanups, there’s not a comprehensive plan in place yet,” Savage said. “There’s a lot of effort underway.”
The Ocean Conservancy has been monitoring marine debris in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and hopes that tracking and dealing with marine debris will help the response when natural disasters occur.
Savage said she has already been receiving calls about debris — items which are most likely not from the tsunami — highlighting an already ongoing problem.
“In general, ocean trash is preventable,” Savage said.
