4 minute read
NEC 50th Anniversary
Community Coastal Column
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Ivy Munnerlyn, Coastal Programs Coordinator
If you’ve ever done a beach cleanup in Humboldt County, you’ve probably run across something that makes you ask “what on Earth is this”? It’s easy to identify a plastic food wrapper or bottle cap, but when it comes to the wad of brightly colored rope or scrap of black plastic mesh, it can get a lot trickier. More often than not, these hard-toidentify items originate in the shing, mariculture, and hunting industries. For those of us not involved in those industries, it can be next to impossible to know what we are looking at. Former Coastal Programs Coordinator Casey Cruikshank saw the need for a clear, easy-to-use guide that could help volunteers ID these items. With the help of the Coastal Programs Advisory Committee, the NEC has produced just such a guide. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the items it covers.
Crab Fisheries Debris
For both recreational and commercial crab shermen, losing gear to strong ocean currents is a frustrating and costly part of the job. Fortunately, many people tag their gear with identi cation numbers or phone numbers to call in case the gear is found. If you see crabbing gear with any of these markings, please send us a location and photo! We can try to locate the owner and get the items returned. Below is a list of a few types of debris from the crabbing industry that frequently wash up on Humboldt beaches.
Crab Pot:
ese are large, heavy circular traps with netting. Pots can be di cult to remove from the beach, so you may want to call in backup! If you nd large items like this that you are unable to move, you can always give us a call or email us the location of the item and we can nd a way to remove it. Crab pots are expensive to replace, so look for a phone number or tag identifying the owner. Chances are, the owner will be happy to hear their gear has been found and may even come help you pick it up.
Crab Buoy:
ese buoys are made of lightweight cylindrical foam, and can be found free oating or attached to rope. ey are usually yellow, orange, or white with a red stripe and are used by many as a fun yard decoration.
Oyster Farming Debris
It’s well known that Humboldt county is the oysterfarming (or “mariculture”) capital of California. Just like the crabbing industry, mariculture operations can lose gear and debris to strong currents. Luckily, many of the companies in the Bay will accept returned gear. If you nd an oyster basket marked “CSC”, you can return it to Coast Seafoods Company in exchange for free oysters! If you nd marked or labeled mariculture gear, please send us a photo and location so we can let companies know where their items are washing up.
Oyster Baskets, Bags, and Trays:
Oysters can be grown in di erent containers depending on their stage of growth and the type of growing operation. Oyster baskets are black mesh cages measuring roughly two feet long, and can sometimes have a buoy attached. Oyster bags are made of the same black plastic mesh as baskets, but are more exible and open on one side. Oyster trays measure roughly 2 ft x 2 ft, and are made of sti er black mesh divided into four sections.
Black ABS Pipe:
In the last few years, volunteers have noticed a peculiar marine debris item on Humboldt beaches: black plastic pipe cut into 6-8 inch sections. We believe this pipe is related to past mariculture operations in the Bay, and are actively monitoring the issue.
Yellow 3-Stranded Rope:
Like the black ABS pipe, this debris item has become a signi cant issue in recent years. It is made of three yellow plastic strands wound together, and is typically found in cut segments of 1-2 feet. is is a common type of debris to see on Clam Beach, and is often found stuck in dune grasses.
If you’ve collected trash data using the NOAA Marine Debris Tracker App, you may be familiar with some of these items, which appear in the “Fishing/Mariculture/ Hunting” category. e Marine Debris Identi cation Guide was designed to be a companion to our citizen science data collection e orts. Collecting data on the litter we nd helps us advocate for trash reduction solutions in our community. If you nd something that isn’t in the guide, send a photo to ivynecmail@gmail.com and we can add it to future editions. e Marine Debris ID Guide can be accessed on your phone or computer through the NEC website, or you can check out a printed copy at our o ce.
