Fixing the filth

By TERRY TOMALIN
Published October 14, 2005

FORT DESOTO - Looking for seashells along "America's Best Beach," my daughter started collecting discarded cigarette butts.

"No," I said. "No, no."

My 2-year-old appeared confused. I let her play with a horseshoe crab shell. Why couldn't she keep the tobacco-stained filters?

"Yucky," I said. "Very yucky."

Yucky indeed. Why would somebody visit one of the most beautiful beaches in the United States, then trash it?

The answer escapes me. But last year during Florida's Annual Coastal Cleanup, cigarette butts accounted for 29 percent of all the debris statewide.

As offensive as that may sound, all garbage is not created equal.

"Ten pounds of cigarette butts verses 25 fishing nets ... what do you think will do the most damage to marine life?" asked Seba Sheavly, an international expert on marine debris. "The fishing nets of course."

According to the result of the 2004 event, which takes place over a two-month period, discarded fishing line was responsible for nearly half of the 186 marine-animal deaths found worldwide as part of the cleanup. Rope and fishing nets followed closely.

"Abandoned fishing gear of all types poses a real problem," Sheavly said. "It is designed to catch, and that is exactly what it does, catch."

For 20 years, the Ocean Conservancy has sponsored an International Coastal Cleanup, an annual event which has grown in scope to include more than 300,000 volunteers in 87 countries.

In Florida the problem with marine debris is particularly widespread, thanks in part to the state's long coastline and large number of tourists. Because of the state's fickle fall weather, organizers offer a two-month window to complete the cleanup: Hillsborough County had its in September, and Pinellas County's is scheduled for Saturday.

The problem with marine debris is nothing new. As long as humans have lived and worked by the sea, their garbage has found its way into the ocean. But advancements in technology, particularly the development of long-lasting synthetic materials, have compounded the issue.

Today's high-tech fishing line, if discarded and left in the environment, can continue to catch wildlife for years, even decades.

In Florida cigarette butts are the most commonly found item (78,654), followed by beverage caps and lids (43,526) and food wrappers and containers (30,996). Fishing line, nets and rope comprise less than 10 percent of the total items found but account for nearly half of all wildlife deaths. Last year volunteers found 46 dead birds entangled in fishing nets or line.

"It is still a huge problem," said Peter Clark of Tampa BayWatch, one of the bay area's leading environmental advocacy groups. "It is not as bad as it used to be, but we are still finding a lot of line on the mangrove islands."

Tampa BayWatch has sponsored an annual monofilament line cleanup for 11 years. "We target the bird-nesting islands," said Clark. "The birds bring the line in from the Gulf fishing piers."

Volunteers are needed for the Florida Coastal Cleanup. Call Keep Pinellas Beautiful at 727 533-0402 or go to www.keeppinellasbeautiful.org to register.

"We have 27 sites stretching from Honeymoon Island to Ft. DeSoto," event organizer Bill Sanders said. "We can still use all the help we can get."

To learn more about the Tampa BayWatch monofilament fishing cleanup, call 727 867-8166 or go to www.tampabaywatch.org BayWatch is in need of boat captains to ferry volunteers to the bird islands.

To learn more about the Ocean Conservancy, the Marine Debris Research and Reduction Act of 2005 or past International Coastal Cleanups, go to www.oceanconservancy.org

A list of items found during the 2004 International Coastal Cleanup

BAGS: 14,441

BALLOONS: 2,411

CRAB/LOBSTER/FISH TRAPS: 399

FISHING LINE: 3,143

FISHING NETS: 620

PLASTIC SHEETING/TARPS: 4,661

ROPE: 7,359

SIX-PACK HOLDERS: 1,197

STRAPPING BANDS: 1,661

SYRINGES: 368

Source: 2004 International Coastal Cleanup, Florida Report, www.coastalcleanup.org

[Last modified October 14, 2005, 01:41:14]