The Pribilof Islands are among the most unique and important places in the world. Three of the five islands making up the Pribilof Islands are uninhabited, but two of the largest islands, St. George and St. Paul Islands, host vibrant communities that are predominantly Unangax̂/Unangan. However, these communities have long shouldered the burdensome and overwhelming responsibility of removing tens of thousands of tons of debris, much of which originates far from the communities themselves. Because of the multitude of threats resulting from marine debris pollution that constantly accumulates on the coastlines of St. George and St. Paul, these communities have developed and expanded locally-driven marine debris prevention and removal efforts.
We are pleased to share our new Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2021-2025! This document highlights how the Marine Debris Program will work with dedicated staff and partners for the next five years to make a measurable change toward reaching our vision: the global ocean and its coasts free from the impacts of marine debris.
Indigenous communities have a deep understanding of and relationship with the natural environment, which has fostered expert and nuanced traditional ecological knowledge, and shaped cultural practices and identity. NOAA recognizes the importance of indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge for understanding the environment, adapting to environmental change, and improving the health of environments that we all depend on. The Marine Debris Program (MDP) is proud to work with indigenous communities in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest to understand and reduce the impacts of marine debris through projects that prevent and remove marine debris.
The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce our Fiscal Year 2021 North America Marine Debris Prevention and Removal notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). Funding for this NOFO was provided through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Implementation Act. The USMCA recognizes the importance of taking action to prevent and reduce marine marine debris, including plastic litter and microplastics, in order to preserve human health and marine and coastal ecosystems, prevent the loss of biodiversity, and mitigate the costs and impacts of marine debris.
The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to present our 2020 Accomplishments Report. Once a year, we like to take a moment to reflect on our Program’s mission to investigate and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris, and to recognize the achievements made by our team and our partners. This year presented a set of unique challenges, but despite these disruptions, we adapted to our ever-changing circumstances and accomplished a great deal.