Marine Debris Art Contest Winner

Congratulations to our Annual NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest winners, whom will be featured in the 2018 Marine Debris Calendar! This year, we received more than 500 entries from kindergarten to 8th-grade students with incredible visual messages on what we need to do to be the solution to ocean pollution. Thank you to all the students who participated in this year's contest!

What is Marine Debris?

Be a Beach Trash Warrior

Be a Beach Trash Warrior

Yahoo! It's summer. And we're going to the beach! 

Let's have fun and keep our beaches clean.  Be sure to get your family and friends to rid the day's trash in the right way. Recycle! Reuse! Reduce! Be a BEACH TRASH WARRIOR.

Learn more about trash and the ocean with this video.

Sherman's Lagoon Characters Explain Marine Debris

Jim Toomey's Sherman's Lagoon characters explain marine debris

The Marine Debris Monster. Scary Stuff!

As you’re trick-or-treating this Halloween, watch out for scares... Goblins! Monsters! Debris! BOO! (Drawing by Teeger B., Grade 8, California, art contest winner featured in the 2013 Marine Debris Calendar)


Here are the top 10 kinds of trash picked up after Halloween--and since the ocean is downhill from everything, imagine how much of this trash winds up in the sea--feeding that Marine Debris Monster. Ooooooooooooooooo, that's scary stuff.

Talkin' Trash

What is marine debris?  It's trash that winds up in the ocean.  You can make a difference and help prevent trash from landing in the ocean.  

Watch for a special post from children's book author, Patricia Newman. 

Meanwhile, learn how 

you can help from this video.

"Keep the Sea Free of Debris" Art Contest

2nd Grade Winner from 2014

We all know that trash on our beaches and in the ocean is U-G-L-Y!!! It is also not healthy for seabirds, seals, fish, whales and all of the beautiful creatures that live in the sea.



If you are in grade Kindergarten through 8th grade in any U.S. state or territory, you can enter an art contest sponsored by NOAA.



Your art must be about marine debris.  



What is marine debris?



It's all that trash that you and I make everyday.  It is the trash that get's away from us and winds up in creeks, rivers, lakes, and the ocean.



Ask your teacher or parent about how you can enter this contest. Click this link "Keep the Sea Free of Debris" for more information about this contest. 

The last day to submit entries is November 17, 2014.

Eligibility
All students in grades Kindergarten through 8th grade from all U.S. states and territories–recognized public, private, and home schools are eligible to participate. Schools, including home schools, must be in compliance with federal and state civil rights and nondiscrimination statutes. Students must work individually.



For a complete list of contest rules, download the 2015 Marine Debris Art Contest Flyer, located under the "Resources" box.



Criteria for Art & Description
Each entry must be composed of a piece of artwork and a description (on entry form). All must meet the requirements below. Students are highly encouraged to check out the rest of the NOAA Marine Debris Program's website for information about marine debris.



Entries (entry form and artwork) should be mailed to:



Marine Debris Art Contest
ATTN: Asma Mahdi
NOAA Marine Debris Program
1305 East-West Highway Rm #10203
SSMC4, 10th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910



All entries must be postmarked by Monday, November 17th. Please note that entries will not be returned.

If you have any questions, please contact Asma Mahdi at (301) 713-4248 Ext. 235 or asma.mahdi@noaa.gov.

Divers Free Whale From Fishing Line

Last week, divers near the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in Maui  discovered a humpback whale caught in fishing rope.

Rope & Buoys on Humpback Whale Tail

It took several efforts to remove more  than 200 feet (61 m) of line and two buoys from around the whale.

Fishing Rope Caught on Humpback Whale

These gentle giants swim 3,000 miles from Alaska to the warmer waters of Hawaii in the winter.  They rest and give birth to their calves--usually from January thru April.



Photos and story courtesy of NOAA.

Young Paddleboarders Clean Florida Waterway

Photo from SUP  Magazine

A waterway in Florida often clogs with trash.  The trash lands in the waterway after a rain storm, and then the trash makes its way to the ocean.  

Recently, young volunteers on paddleboards swept the waterway clean.  They used a special paddle with a net that captures the trash, and then they put the trash into a trash can attached to their paddleboard.

Paddleboarders have collected more that 2200 pounds of trash--that never reached our beautiful seas.

 Sea Stars all around!

Source: SUP Magazine