Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Courtesy of Ray Boland, National Marine Fisheries Service
A tendril from a net weighing approximately 300 pounds
hangs on a coral head at French Frigate Shoals, above.
A weeklong conference on marine debris held at the
Hawaii Convention Center ended yesterday.

‘Great hope’ seen
for solutions to
marine debris problem

Conference recommendations

---

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of the California-based Ocean Futures Society and son of Jacques Cousteau, says he sees "great hope" in ideas and solutions to the problem of worldwide use of the ocean as a sewer.

"I am always touched, moved and inspired when I come to Hawaii," he said here yesterday at the close of a weeklong International Marine Debris Conference.

"It is a productive and immensely important conference," he said, adding a hope that "the ideas will stimulate positive change."

Quoting Victor Hugo's "The sewer is the conscience of the city," he pointed out: "The sea is the conscience of the entire civilization. Let's not forget we are always downstream of someone else."

That was uppermost in the minds of nearly 300 delegates from all over the Pacific who focused on the ecological and economic costs of derelict gear and ways to address the problems.

Edward Araki, manager of the Honolulu Agency, representing Japan's longline fishermen, said he attended the Hawaii Convention Center meetings "with a feeling of curiosity to learn more about marine debris. I was awakened."

Brent Paine, executive director of United Catcher Boats, representing 65 boats in Alaska, noted there were few people at the conference who catch fish for a living.

Although he receives many reports, he said, "People don't read reports but they do have a state of consciousness."

He cited the issue of Hawaiian monk seals as an example. If fishermen in his organization knew lost nets hurt endangered seals in the Hawaiian Islands, they would think of ways to prevent losing them or work very hard to retrieve them, he said.

Working groups examining the issues echoed Cousteau's call to act quickly -- before it's too late.

Cousteau said he took his son Fabien to Southern France, along the coast of the Mediterranean, to show him beaches he explored as a youth.

"But what should have been a magical moment became a painful disappointment," he said. "After two or three steps, our feet were covered in tar. Plastic and cardboard were everywhere. Fishing line dangled from the beaks of birds. It was the same story in the water: the bottom was strewn with plastic bags, aluminum cans and other discarded junk.

"I was horribly depressed. In only a few decades, the Mediterranean had become a sewer. It had been a place of imagination."

Delegates this week emphasized the need for more education and outreach to decision-makers, industries and consumers about the dangers of ocean garbage.

"The problems are so complex that many people tune out," Cousteau said. "They tend to think that it cannot get so bad in their lifetime ... Well, as we all know, they are wrong."

Industry representatives played a strong role with officials, citizens and environmentalists in seeking solutions.

Chris Oliver, deputy director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Alaska, said he would ask his council and the industry to push for reporting regulations on gear losses.

Steven Hendrickson, general manager of the Recycling Division of Skagit River Steel and Recycling, Washington, said it has been involved in recycling ocean trash in various communities since 1989.

The effort was funded initially, he said. "When the funding was over, the party was over ... We're all treading water."

He said his company could probably recycle 100 tons a year of fishing waste with an "accountable system." It now averages about 40 tons a year.

Dumping things in the ocean isn't getting rid of it, Cousteau said. "We're simply elbowing it out, postponing the day when we must deal with it.

"It's not just an economic problem. It's an ethical problem -- a crisis not of the head but of the heart."

A painting was unveiled yesterday that was done especially for the conference by Hawaii artist Robert Lyn Nelson.

He said he wanted "to hit people over the head" with underwater beauty together with pollution.

 | | |

Conference recommendations

Among major recommendations of the International Marine Debris Conference were these to:

Establish a high-level Pacific Rim Debris Commission, with a letter sent by Sept. 1 to federal agencies, Congress and Pacific governments about the conference and its recommendations.

Ask President Clinton to send a letter to Pacific Basin governments asking for collaboration to deal with the mutual problem of marine debris.

Standardize methods of removing derelict gear, now done on an emergency basis, to avoid causing harm.

Assess the status of derelict gear globally; establish an international web site for data collection and review and an international hotline with agencies designated in each country to respond to problems.

Establish regulations on federal and state levels requiring vessels to report and document gear loss without fear of penalties.

Expand port facilities to handle discarded fishing gear and waste.

Appoint a gear expert coordinator and set up a network of fishing gear specialists by Jan. 1 to investigate and identify sources of derelict gear and look into gear construction and maintenance.

---

Helen Altonn, Star-Bulletin