Marine Debris "PRIORITY No. 1" | Miyakojima Kids Net

Exit Survey
at Miyako Island

Feb. 2011

Oct. 2010

Arrival Survey
at the Pacific Northwest

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	Why We Need to Remove Marine Debris

We need to clean the beaches periodically
because whenever high tides come,
all the trash will flow back into the ocean
and harm the sea creatures and ecosystem.

Many creatures are injured or killed from many plastic wastes, toys, lighters, or fishing equipments that are washed onto shore or are floating in the ocean. The impact is large, no matter how small the piece of debris may be. We are responsible for this and we are the only ones who can prevent these sad happenings. Ignoring this issue will only bring us more serious problems in the future. More people should be aware of this environmental problem and work together to help our planet and all the creatures living in it.

The photos below represent the condition of sea creatures all over the world.

This dead turtle found at the beach of Miyako Island may have developed
intestinal blockage from the plastic and Styrofoams found in the intestine.
(Photo by Miyakojima Kids Net)

Photo courtesy by NOAA

What you can do!

1. No littering! Remember to throw away all trash into the trash can.

2. Find ways to reduce daily trash.

3. Participate in beach cleaning activities.

The following are the group of most hazardous, high risk particles of marine debris ranked as “PRIORITY No. 1”. They are urgently in need of being picked from beaches before they return to the ocean by the next high tide.

Fishing Gears:
1. Fishing Nets
2. Fishing Lines
3. Fishing Floats and Quills
4. Fishing Gears such as Crab Pot and Traps
5. Ropes
6. PP Fish Box and Foam-filled Fish Box

Plastic Products:
7. 6 Pack Holders (for beverages)
8. Plastic Bags
9. Caps, Lids, Pull Tabs
10. Plastic cups, plates, knives, forks, spoons
11. Food Wrappers and Containers
12. Straws, Stirrers
13. Beverage Bottles (plastic)
14. Balloons

Other Debris:
15. Cigarette Filters
16. Cigarette Lighters
17. Tires
18. Syringes (Mostly to protect local children and swimmers)
19. Glass Beverage Bottles (Mostly to protect local children and swimmers from cuts and injuries)
20. Electric bulibs and fluorescent bulbs

Why We Can't Simply Clean the Ocean

1.	Since garbage flows and moves around in the ocean, it will take lots of time to locate specific areas of debris. A lot of money will be needed for this!
2.	Scoping up all the debris may sound simple, but it's not! Surprisingly, there are many sea creatures such as plankton, jellyfish, as well as fish and coral eggs that live among the floating debris. By scooping up the debris, that will mean that many sea creatures will be taken as well. This will harm the ecosystem.

We cannot look at this situation lightly. The best thing that we can all do is to stop trash from flowing into the ocean.

How long will it take to dissolve these marine debris?

Paper Towel	2-4 Weeks	Tin Can	50 Years
Newspaper	6 Weeks	Foamed Plastic Cup	50 Years
Cotton Rope	1-5 Months	Wool Socks	1-5 Years
Apple Core	2 Months	Plastic Bottle	450 Years
Cardboard Box	2 Months	Plastic Beverage Holder	400 Years
Cotton Gloves	1-5 Months	Foamed Buoy	50 Years
Waxed Milk Carton	3 Months	Plastic Grocery Bag	1-20 Years
Photo-Degradable Beverage Holder	6 Months	Plywood	1-3 Years
Disposable Diaper	450 Years	Monofilament Fishing Line	600 Years
Aluminum Can	200 Years	Glass Bottles and Jars	Undetermined
Data courtesy by NOAA and SeaGrant (Marine Debris from Land and Sea)

Why We Research Debris at Miyako Island

Miyako Island is geographically located by two ocean currents heading north. One of those currents is the Taiwan Warm Current in the East China Sea which travels north alongside mainland China.
The other is the largest current in the world called the Kuroshio (Black current).
It starts east of the Philippines and travels all the way up to the west coast of Canada and United States. After 4.5 years, the current flows back where it started.
Consequently, the drifting trash of the south-east Asian region flows past Taiwan and gathers near the sea of the Ryukyu (Okinawa) basin, including Miyako Island.
Miyako Island is one of the best places for the “Exit Survey Base at the Gateway” for Drifting Ocean Trash (Marine Debris).
We research debris from the Southeast Asian region before they flow into the Pacific Ocean. The marine debris will travel to mainland Japan and flow to the beaches of the Pacific Northwest of Canada and to the US after two years.

Photo courtesy: NASA - Perpetual Ocean

This image is a visualization of ocean current movements that was created by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio based on data from June 2005 to December 2007.
This image shows two large currents merging north of Taiwan and branch currents (split flows) starting to circle around Miyako Island and other neighboring islands of Okinawa. As a result, lot of Southeast Asian marine debris washes ashore Miyako Island.

This photo is the result of our simulation using NOAA’s Ocean Surface Current Simulator to find the characteristic floating course of marine debris which started near Miyako Island.

Marine Debris Floating Course Simulation: System Courtesy of NOAA

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