2021 Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Summit Held
The biennial Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Summit was held virtually from July 20 – 22 and sought to highlight new or innovative approaches for reducing or preventing marine debris (and litter that becomes marine debris). Over the course of the three day summit, 335 people joined us (497 registered) representing 22 different countries across the globe, including researchers, educators, policy makers, businesses and students.
The goal of the Summit was to bring together Mid-Atlantic regional entities working on marine debris (including litter that becomes marine debris) to identify opportunities for coordination, discuss current and emerging marine debris fields, and highlight solutions to marine debris prevention and reduction. The types of marine debris explored during this Summit included consumer and single-use plastics, microfibers and microplastics, and derelict and abandoned fishing gear. Summit attendees shared case studies, updates on current marine debris science and trends, techniques and tools used to change behavior and influence policies that prevent or reduce marine debris.
The Summit was made possible through a grant from NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management to the Virginia Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program. The Virginia CZM Program contracted with MARCO to help with the planning and development of this summit.
The Summit Planning Team included:
- Laura McKay and Virginia Witmer, Virginia CZM Program
- Judy Tucker and Avalon Bristow of MARCO
- Katie Register and Makayla Jennings of Clean Virginia Waterways of Longwood University, and the University’s Event and Conference Staff who have helped with technical aspects of this Zoom meeting.
- Christy Kehoe NOAA Marine Debris Program
- Matt Robinson, DC’s Dept of Energy & Environment
- Christie Mazzeo-Pfoertner, NYS Dept of State
- Karl Vilacoba, Monmouth University
The agenda and session recordings from the Summit can be downloaded from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) website.
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