Marine Debris Presentation

Marine debris on Netarts spit. Photo by Allison Asbjornsen.

Fawn Custer, CoastWatch’s volunteer coordinator, spoke to the Yachats Academy of Arts and Science last year on the subject of marine debris, and the talk must have gone over well, because she is back by popular demand.  The grandly named “Academy,” a citizen-run group that brings lectures and other cultural offerings to Yachats, will feature Custer in a talk on Friday, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m.

The event, free to the public (a $5 donation is suggested), takes place at the Yachats Commons, at 4^th and Hwy 101 in central Yachats.

Fawn will discuss the marine debris monitoring survey, using a protocol from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which CoastWatch organizes in Oregon, and the results we’ve been seeing from this citizen science project.  She will also provide information on the tsunami debris that has been steadily washing up on our shores, including how to identify debris as being produced by the Japanese tsunami, how to identify likely non-native species carried by this debris, and what to do about it. She will add some notes about CoastWatch’s other citizen science projects, and answer questions about CoastWatch or anything shoreline-related.

For more information about the talk, CoastWatch, or citizen science, contact Fawn and (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org.