Research - Pelagic Plastic - Gyre Voyage 2002
Central Pacific Research Voyage 2002
Phases 1, 2 & 3 Summer/Fall, 2002
Click here to see pictures from the Send-Off Party
The details of our 2002 North Pacific central gyre project and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands research voyage have now taken shape. Because of a contract dispute between Midway Phoenix, operators of the tourist concession, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), Midway Island is no longer served by commercial airlines. Therefore, individual charters to the area are prohibitively expensive. We will still have phase two of our voyage going to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, with a focus on Tern Island which is part of French Frigate Shoals (FFS).
Tom Hayden is aboard ORV Alguita for the first leg, Long Beach to Santa Barbara. (Hayden is a writer on assignment for US News & World Report for an article on AMRF due out as soon as September 2002).
Phase one of our voyage to Hawaii will pass through the North Pacific central gyre, also known as the eastern garbage patch. It is this area where filter-feeders are most heavily impacted by plastic fragments. In order to document plastic impact on these animals, we will attempt to photograph and video the ingestion of plastic fragments by filter-feeders in their natural feeding environment. We will also trawl for samples within the planktonic layer, to study and quantify the relationship between the plastic and zooplankton in the mixed layer of the water column.
After documenting this interaction we will continue our voyage to the Island of Oahu, where we will prepare for our phase two voyage to French Frigate Shoals. The FFS are located approximately 500 miles Northwest of Hawaii and comprises the largest coral reef in Hawaiian waters. This area is also heavily impacted by trash and plastic debris which threatens the endangered Monk Seal among other species on the island. Here we will focus on the relationship of offshore debris found in our trawls to that which is found on the island. The USFWS is in charge of removing shoreline debris that threatens wildlife. Every 2 weeks for the last 10 years, they have been cleaning debris from the beaches of Tern Island. They record the type of debris and store it on pallets, where it is picked up periodically by a ship and disposed of on Oahu. While they have determined that most of the debris is of maritime origin, they have been unable to link it to specific sources.
Phase 2 - French Frigate Shoals Research
World renowned expert on marine flotsam, Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, Founder of the Beachcombers' and Oceanographers' International Association, will fly to Tern Island in an attempt to identify specific types of debris and their sources. It is hoped that his expertise will assist groups fighting marine debris to put responsibility for the problem squarely where it belongs, in order to accelerate international solutions to this growing threat. An additional component of this voyage will be the Spinner Dolphin research of Dr. Leszek Karczmarski, of Texas A&M University's Marine Mammal Research Program. Dr. Karczmarski, will be accompanied by Ms. Kimberly Andrews of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology to help document dolphin behavior in the Northwestern chain and take DNA samples for identification of dolphin populations.
Volunteer crew will board ORV Alguita on July 24, departing from
Long Beach for phase one of our voyage. Arrival in Oahu is anticipated
to be no later than August 15. Departure for the phase two voyage
to FFS is anticipated to be September 1, with the rendezvous with
Dr. Ebbesmeyer at Tern Island on September 15. ORV Alguita will
then return to Oahu around September 25. Preparations will then
be made for the phase three return voyage to Santa Barbara, CA on
Oct. 1. Arrival in Santa Barbara for Algalita Marine Research Foundation's
participation in the California and the World Ocean Conference is
scheduled for October 25. The Conference runs from October 27-30
and Captain Charles Moore of ORV Alguita has been invited to speak
on a marine debris panel convened by the Conference.
See our calendar for specific dates.
Currently, volunteer crew and photographer positions have not been filled for the phase one and phase three portions of the voyage. For further information contact Captain Charles Moore at cmoore@algalita.org or Trina Steele at trina_steele@yahoo.com as soon as possible.
Posted: 7/26/02