Southern New England Marine Debris Action Plan Now Available
MARCH 4, 2024 — On February 20, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) released the new Southern New England Marine Debris Action Plan. This document is the result of a collaborative effort between the MDP and partners across Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts, including federal, state, and nongovernmental organizations, industry, and academia.
The Action Plan establishes a framework to ensure participants can collaborate on common goals focused on cleaning and protecting the coasts and waters of Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts from the negative impacts of marine debris. This Action Plan encompasses work that will be undertaken through 2029.
The Action Plan has five goals, with 25 objectives that define how each goal will be achieved. The goals are:
- Goal 1: Prevention and Removal
- Goal 2: Research and Monitoring
- Goal 3: Coordination
- Goal 4: Collection and Disposition
- Goal 5: Policy and Management
These goals are representative of the community’s marine debris priorities and were developed through a series of virtual workshops and partner feedback throughout 2023. This new Action Plan was built through the collaborative efforts of nearly 30 contributing organizations, with support from a University of Rhode Island graduate student, Emma Janson (Master of Arts in Marine Affairs, 2023). Twice each year, partners will gather to review and update implementation progress as needed.