MARINE DEBRIS - Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 56

butts and filters. Marine debris items range from 4 to over
48,000 items per kilometer of shoreline. The author partici-
pated in a cleanup in January 2009 on a no-smoking beach in
Southern California, and plastic, especially Styrofoam, was far
more abundant than anything else collected; cigarette butts
were extremely rare.
A nonprofit organization called the Rozalia Project has
developed an underwater trash robot that uses sonar to detect
objects and picks up litter under the water before it can foul
the beaches. In 2011 in Boston Harbor, the sonar revealed
tires, large pieces of metal, and piles of beer cans and plas-
tic cups (as well as crabs walking along the bottom). It found
and picked up over 880 pieces of marine debris from a single
pier. This trash robot is expensive, but supported by various
corporations.
Fishing for Energy is a partnership designed to provide
commercial fishermen with a free disposal solution for unus-
able fishing gear. The program gives them a convenient place
to dispose of gear—bins at busy fishing ports—to eliminate the
expense and hassle of disposal of unusable fishing gear in land-
fills. The program increases the likelihood that derelict gear
does not become marine debris. Another example is a multire-
gional effort to remove abandoned crab traps, which are boat-
ing hazards and needlessly trap and kill fish. Monofilament
recovery programs have been started in some states in which
the fishing public deposits used line in containers. The line is
collected and sent to the manufacturer for recycling. The com-
pany melts down the line and uses it to manufacture new plas-
tic fishing products such as tackle boxes and spools for lines.
New crab pots are being made with a biodegradable panel that
will provide an escape for animals trapped in lost pots.
However, the most viable option to reduce litter is to reduce
its production in the first place, improve reuse and recycling,
and enhance environmental awareness. As a result of public
pressure, some plastics manufacturers are responding. When
evidence was found that one of the sources is microbeads used