Marine Debris Program Coordinates California Ocean Litter Strategy Workgroups
SEPT. 13, 2021 — On Sept. 1, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) wrapped-up a month of partner-led virtual workgroup meetings to discuss the California Ocean Litter Strategy. The meetings brought together over 75 partners across the state and included a diverse set of sectors including state agencies, nonprofits, private sector, and academia.
The MDP partnered with the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to develop the California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy. The Strategy acts as a key document for the OPC marine pollution program’s work on ocean litter and plastic pollution. Twice a year, California’s marine debris action plan partners lead workgroups based on the six goals of the strategy. Each workgroup meeting discussed the Strategy’s action progress, partner updates, and presentations from leaders in California. Christy Kehoe, NOAA MDP California Regional Coordinator shared updates on the NOAA MDP federal funding opportunities. NOAA MDP California Sea Grant Extension Fellow Tanya Torres provided updates on the Strategy’s implementation. Tanya works closely with the workgroup leads to plan meetings, collects progress report updates, and coordinates bi-annual webinars.
These bi-annual workgroups provide a venue for regular dialog and collaboration between organizations supporting actions within the Strategy. Partners valued the information sharing and updates on actions and related projects. The next workgroup meetings will take place in February.
For more information, please contact Tanya.Torres@noaa.gov.