Laura Ludwig, manager of the Center for Coastal Studies’ Marine Debris & Plastic Program, will present at the 7th International Marine Debris Conference in Busan, South Korea next week.
The International Marine Debris Conference (IMDC) is the world’s largest and longest-running conference series dedicated to the issue of marine debris and plastic pollution. The 5IMDC (held in Hawaii in 2011) saw the launch of the Honolulu Strategy — a landmark framework for a comprehensive and global effort to reduce the ecological, human health, and economic impacts of marine debris. The 6IMDC (held in San Diego in 2018) brought together over 700 attendees from 50 countries, the largest event in the history of the conference.
A highly competitive forum for sharing research and outcomes of marine debris initiatives, the IMDC solicits abstracts and selects a small percentage to be presented orally. Ludwig has presented on her program at both the 5th and 6th IMDC, and her abstract this year, entitled “Fishermen, Fisheries Managers, Researchers and Artists: The A-Team for Responsible ALDFG Assessment, Removal and End-of-Life Disposal”, will be presented as part of a Technical Session about sea-based sources of debris, highlighting her collaborative program to remove lost or discarded fishing gear and dispose of it properly.
“Over the course of decades spent removing abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear from the ocean, I’ve come to understand the value of collaborating with commercial fishermen, researchers, managers and recycling companies,” said Ludwig. “Add artists to that list, and now you’ve got the best and highest use of otherwise unusable material. I’m honored to be able to discuss the methods we use here in such an esteemed global forum.”
The 7th IMDC, September 18-23, 2022, is the first to be held outside the United States and will build on the momentum of past IMDC by bringing together governments, industry, academia, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders, to discuss the latest science, strengthen collaborations, find solutions and catalyze action to address the urgent, global problem of marine litter and plastic pollution.
The 7th IMDC is co-hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, with the support of the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation, the Global Partnership on Marine Litter, and the US NOAA Marine Debris Program.
