CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Scientists were breaking down the issue of marine debris at the Texas State Aquarium this morning.
It was all part of the mid-year stakeholder meeting for the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Marine Debris Cross Team Initiative.
Participants came from states bordering the Gulf of Mexico. They presented several action plans to combat ocean pollution.
“This is 100 percent preventable and so how we are going to make the change is working with the regulatory agencies,” said Jace Tunnell, director of Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve.”So giving them the data that has been collected from citizen scientists and then the regulatory agencies can use that as justification.”
Others say that teaching people about the problem of marine debris will help solve it.
“The key to addressing the marine debris issue that we have here in the Gulf is really education and awareness,” said Caitlin Wessel, coordinator of the NOAA Marine Debris Program.
The group also discussed how severe weather can influence marine pollution.
Specifically, they reviewed the impact of Hurricane Harvey and what lessons could be learned from that storm's damage to the region.
