The first time I sailed across the North Atlantic many years ago, we were all surprised at the number of white Styrofoam cups we saw bobbing hundreds of miles from land. I think we commented at the time that those cups would be out there forever. Little did we know just how pervasive plastic pollution would become, to the point now that tiny traces of plastic are found in just about every marine organism.
Marine and environmental scientists spend a lot of time gathering data on plastic pollution, but they can always use more help. That’s where sailors and cruisers like us can lend a hand by working with one of the non-profit organizations that have been formed to help sailors become citizen scientists and advocates for clean oceans.
The international organization Oceana is dedicated to cleaning up the world’s oceans and works with many different groups on specific projects from saving sea turtle sanctuaries, to plastic pollution, to fundamental data collection and research.
In the US, the non-profit organization Sailors for the Sea is dedicated to helping sailors and event organizers run clean events. They also actively lobby government officials and corporations to reduce single-use plastic containers that are the main source of plastic pollution. Affiliated with Oceana since 2018, Sailors for the Sea has raised awareness of ocean pollution across the whole sailing community.
Based in New Zealand, the Ocean Research Project was recently formed to engage sailors in the South Pacific to join their data collection process. While offshore, these crews take twice-daily samples and when they get to their next port, they ship them back to the ORP for testing. They plan to take the initiative worldwide.
In Norway, a group of scientists and sailors has started a similar project called Sailors4Science. With sailors taking samples all over the world, S4S has partnered with the United Nations’ Ocean Decade Initiative to help monitor pollution and collect as much data as possible.
In the UK, Eyesea is a non-profit that collects data on ocean pollution sent to them by volunteers via their smartphone app. See something amiss, take a photo and send to Eyesea. They’ll do the rest.
So, if you want to help marine pollution researchers and anti-pollution advocates while sailing, these organizations and others can make that happen.
Link to Oceana here.
Link to Sailors for the Sea here.
Link to the Ocean Research Project here.
Link to Sailors4Science here.
Link to Eyesea here.
