Beach trash, but no beach users?

This one is ugly - NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmopheric Administration) just did the latest in a series of surveys of a stretch of beaches in Alaska, looking mainly for shipping and fishing cast-off debris - basic marine debris like nets, floats, etc.

They found the usual stuff, and though the data has "not been fully analyzed", the most marked difference in "deposits" since the last survey (in 1994) is...oh yes, "hundreds and sometimes thousands of plastic drink bottles littering almost every kilometer of the surveyed shoreline" which were further described as being "easy to notice".

Read up on it here.

While you're there, poke around in the Photo Gallery and seek out Marine Debris 101 to find shots of Sources, Impacts & Solutions - lotsa good stuff from the superstars at Ocean Conservancy. The Impacts==>Wildlife page has some shocking images, so beware.

Thanks to Rick Wilson, Surfrider's Coastal Management Coordinator, for this one.