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Marine Debris Program Joins Derelict Aquaculture Gear Removal in Provincetown, Massachusetts

AUGUST 19, 2019 — On August 6, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, joined partners at the Center for Coastal Studies and the Provincetown Harbormaster’s Office for a marine debris cleanup in the Provincetown intertidal area known as the “west end flats.”

People working on a beach, digging in the sand.
Volunteers remove plastic shellfish aquaculture bins buried in the sand in the Provincetown west end flats. Image credit: NOAA.

Participants, including community volunteers, shellfish farmers, town officials, and Center for Coastal Studies staff, removed the derelict legacy shellfish aquaculture gear, some that had been in place for decades. This area experiences ten-foot tides, so gear can be dug out of the sand while the tide is out and hauled away by boat when the tide rushes in. The team collected hundreds of pounds of netting, rope, cages, and plastic shellfish bins and loaded them onto barges and skiffs. As the tide came in, they launched their boats, and the Harbormaster delivered the haul to MacMillan Pier for disposal and recycling.

For more information, please contact Demi.Fox@noaa.gov.

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Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:48pm PST