National Marine Fisheries survey of plastic debris on the Malaspina Forelands
Cook M. 1988. National Marine Fisheries survey of plastic debris on the Malaspina Forelands. Cook, Mary Beth
Plastic debris found on beaches and at sea often entangle and endanger marine animals, seabirds, and fish. National Marine Fisheries Service has conducted plastic debris surveys on coastal beaches in Alaska since 1972; Yakutat area beaches have been surveyed since 1984. NMFS felt that data from the Malaspina Forelands beaches would provide valuable information on plastics pollution in the Gulf of Alaska and that WRST could use the data to assess quality of these beaches and determine the need for and potential frequency of future monitoring studies by the park. The 1988 survey results showed far less debris than was expected on the Malaspina Forelands beaches, presumably due to the relatively high number of outwash streams on the Forelands, the severity of winter storms there, and/or differences in ocean currents. The most common debris found in this survey were packing straps, trawl web floats, trawl webs, and gill nets. Considering the low incidence of debris on the Forelands beaches, NMFS recommended that WRST monitor these beaches for plastics every three to five years.
- Type
- Geospatial Dataset
- Authors
- Cook, Mary Beth
- Date of Issue
- 1988
- Publisher
- Cook, Mary Beth
- Units
- CAKN , WRST
- Keywords
- Alaska, coastal beach surveys, Coastal/ Marine Systems, DatasetCatalog, Malaspina Forelands, Marine Mammals, National Marine Fisheries Service, plastic debris, saltwater fish, Seabirds, Water, Wrangell - St Elias National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park And Preserve, WRST