Marine Debris Program Coordinates California Ocean Litter Strategy Workgroups
SEPT. 12, 2022 — On Aug. 31, the NOAA Marine Debris Program wrapped up a month of partner-led virtual workgroup meetings to discuss the California Ocean Litter Strategy (OLS). The meetings brought together over 75 partners across the state and included a diverse set of sectors including state agencies, nonprofits, private organizations, and academia.
The MDP partnered with the California Ocean Protection Council and California Sea Grant to develop the California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy. Twice a year, California’s marine debris action plan partners meet in workgroups to discuss the Strategy’s action progress, partner updates, and presentations from leaders in California. The NOAA MDP’s California regional coordinator, Christy Kehoe, and Tanya Torres, California Sea Grant Extension fellow, provided updates on the strategy’s implementation. Additionally, they serve as co-leads for the research workgroup and facilitate goal-based breakout discussion on action updates. Tanya also shared that although her fellowship is coming to a close in mid-September, she will be staying on as a staff research associate with California Sea Grant.
These bi-annual workgroups provide a venue for regular dialog and collaboration between organizations supporting actions within the strategy. The next workgroup meetings will take place in February 2023.