This month, the Center for Coastal Studies’ Marine Debris and Plastics Program will lead a group of dedicated volunteers to remove fishing gear debris from the beaches and shores of Cuttyhunk Island. Cuttyhunk is the southernmost island in the chain of the Elizabeths and collects a high density of storm-driven marine debris, primarily in the form of lobster traps, ropes, and other fishing-related gear.
This is the second year CCS has facilitated gear removal on Cuttyhunk Island; last year over 15,000 pounds of debris was removed in the first concentrated effort to remediate the inundation of gear. With funding from SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants, CCS and the team of volunteers will spend the week of May 19-24, 2024, removing debris that was unable to be obtained last year, as well as new materials that have accumulated since the last removal effort.
CCS staff and volunteers will be joined by island residents, commercial fishermen, the Massachusetts Environmental Police, natural resource officers from Buzzards Bay Coalition, and artists in restoring the essential habitat on the island. Gear will be documented through a data collection process and then hauled off the island to be recycled, re-used or repurposed for art.
For more information please contact project director Laura Ludwig at [email protected].
