Marine Debris Articles

CoastWatch training on rocky shore habitats.\Photo by Daniel Anderson.

CoastWatch Webinars Available on YouTube

CoastWatch training on rocky shore habitats.\Photo by Daniel Anderson. With the onset of pandemic restrictions, CoastWatch pivoted toward working online to maintain volunteer training and public education and to keep the mile adopter community connected. This required some re-orientation for a program that has always relied on community events and beachwalks,...Read more

Work for a Foam-Free Oregon

Here's the foam we hope to ban.\Photo by John Chapman. Oregon Shores has joined other groups in supporting House Bill 2617, the Foam-Free Oregon bill. Expanded polystyrene, often known by its trademarked name, Styrofoam, is a form of foamed plastic commonly used for food containers and packaging. This disposable packaging is usually thrown away after a single...Read more

CoastWatching Moves Online

CoastWatchers Dave and Diane Bilderback conducting a beached bird survey. The coronavirus crisis poses particular difficulties for a program like CoastWatch, which brings people together for educational events and projects on the shore, while encouraging volunteers to monitor a shoreline which is currently closed to many. But the program has now pivoted to an...Read more

'Sharing the Coast' Time Soon to Arrive

Horsfall Beach near Coos Bay; European beachgrass (foreground) will be a topic at the conference.\Photo by Dina Pavlis. The 11 th annual Sharing the Coast Conference is coming up March 13-15. This time around the conference, a collaboration between CoastWatch and the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME), will be held in Coos Bay, at Southwestern...Read more

New Environmental Steward Program Boosts CoastWatching

Marine debris surveying will be one way of earning a certificate.\Photo by Jesse Jones. Oregon Shores and CoastWatch announce a new partnership with Clatsop Community College, the Environmental Steward Certificate program. The goals of the new initiative are to boost the skills of CoastWatchers and provide mile adopters with the opportunity to take classes and...Read more
View from the Port Orford dock.\Photo courtesy of ODFW.

Big Weekend in Port Orford Coming Up

View from the Port Orford dock.\Photo courtesy of ODFW. One of CoastWatch’s goals for 2018 is to bolster our citizen science projects on the south coast. Assisted by a grant from the Oregon Parks Foundation Fund that helps to cover travel and other costs, we are trying to give the southern coastal counties some special attention. The full weekend of activities...Read more
Tidepool instruction at Haystack Rock.\Photo by Melissa Keyser/HRAP.

Share the Coast for Fun and Stewardship

Tidepool instruction at Haystack Rock.\Photo by Melissa Keyser/HRAP. The annual Sharing the Coast Conference, coming up March 2-4 in Cannon Beach this year, presents an extraordinary harvest of coastal natural history and shoreline science. Mingle with fellow coast-lovers, revel in talks, panel discussions, and field trips, and, of course, strive for supremacy...Read more
Derelict Japanese fishing vessel, debris from the tsunami, on Arcadia Beach.\Photo by Tiffany Boothe, Seaside Aquarium.

CoastWatcher-Aided Tsunami Debris Research Published

Derelict Japanese fishing vessel, debris from the tsunami, on Arcadia Beach.\Photo by Tiffany Boothe, Seaside Aquarium. On Dec. 2, a derelict 38-foot Japanese fishing boat, debris from the 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan, washed up on Arcadia Beach south of Cannon Beach. Six years after the earthquake and tsunami on the other side of the Pacific, we’re still...Read more
Sea Change

Celebrate International Coastal Cleanup Day

Courtesy of the Ocean Conservancy SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 is International Coastal Cleanup Day. Ocean trash is a serious pollution issue that affects the health of wildlife, people, and local economies. Trash on our shores and in the water increases the destruction and degradation of wildlife, water quality, and and ecosystems. In partnership with volunteer...Read more