WhaleFest Marine Debris Removal Expedition
ITN Mission Area: Develop and promote stewardship, restoration and maintenance projects for coastlines.
Project Dates: April 20-24, 2020 and April 27-May 1 2020 Funding Partners: National Fish & Wildlife Foundation | NOAA
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Marine debris continues to be a pervasive issue that is more than an eyesore: it injures and kills marine life, interferes with navigation safety, threatens human health, and reduces coastal recreation and tourism. ITN combats this issue by removing it from the marine environment to lessen the effects of ingestion and entanglement for marine mammals and birds. We are soliciting volunteers for yet another remote cleanup on Afognak Island.
This is a great opportunity to join a five day volunteer expedition with all expenses provided while making the world a better place, one beach at a time. While living aboard on a contracted vessel, volunteers will go to beach sites for the removal of marine debris. Each workday may be physically challenging, but is very rewarding seeing the results of a cleaner coastline immediately. Grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration are funding these expeditions. The scheduling of this expedition is timed to occur during WhaleFest Kodiak, which celebrates the migration of eastern North Pacific gray whales. Ninety percent of gray whales transit the east side of Kodiak island each spring on their way from the calving grounds in Baja California to Alaska and the Arctic. Based on 2019 metrics, this effort is expected remove over 15,000 pounds of marine debris from the marine environment over the course of ten days, removing a significant source of entanglement to whales and other marine mammals while beautifying miles of spectacular coastline. This is a first-come, first-served opportunity so please email info@islandtrails.org if interested. Our goal is to enlist nine volunteers for each expedition. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!
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Crewing/Berthing Plan Aboard Ship
