Marine Debris Action Teams lead beach cleanups, scientific evaluations of debris density, and take action to save sea turtles by reducing the plastic pollution responsible for harming and killing endangered sea turtles.

Connect with Marine Debris Action Teams on Facebook to learn about field excursions, beach cleanups, marine debris research trips, and ways to take action to reduce plastic pollution. To start your own local Marine Debris Action Team, contact Dr. Chris Pincetich, chris@seaturtles.org

Below is the to date 2012 data from the Sea Turtle Restoration Network's Marine Debris Action Team:

Total Marine Debris: 8248 Items
Total Plastic Debris: 5368 Items
Percent Plastic: 65%

(TOTAL above updated 11/14/2012)

Debris Diary

11/7/2012 - South Limantour with Team ORACLE USA, NBCC, Sea Scavengers

Today we collaborated with over thirty volunteers and other groups, including the America’s Cup  Team ORACLE USA, to clean up the ship wreckage left on the beach of Limantour South. Prior to the big clean up, we collected our routine data from a survey on our 100 m long transect. It was very foggy today and a bit cold, with winds blowing from 0-5 knots. We conducted our survey between meters 15 and 65. The survey, which is at the trailhead of the southern parking lot, took place among old fire pits. This may be indicative of skewed data for this beach as a whole. So where we might find an abundance of ‘fresh’ debris at this spot on the beach, the rest of the beach (or the rest of our transect) would not have as much. See below for the top marine debris collected today.

Top Marine Debris Collected

1. Plastic Bits 1.0-2.5cm – 11Weathered/ 2 Fresh

2. Plastic Bits >2.5cm - 10 Weathered/ 2 Fresh

3. Foam Bits 1.0-2.5 cm – 4 Weathered/ 1 Fresh

4. Plastic Bags – 3 Weathered/ 2 Fresh

5. Cigarette Butts – 2 Weathered/ 2 Fresh

November 5, 2012 – Palomarin

Today was a midday survey, beginning at 2:00 pm. One of the hottest days of the season, the sun was beating down on us at around 80° with very little wind and not a cloud in sight. Our study area stretched from meter 25 of our transect to meter 95. The prevailing trend at this particular sight is an abundance of weathered plastic and weathered treated lumber. As the beach is covered with rocks instead of sand, the debris gets caught easily between the crevices and it is hard to uncover all of the debris along the transect. So as for all of our surveys, the debris collected for this sight was that which is found among visible surface. We collected 223 items of debris (the majority of which were treated lumber that were left at the sight due to their size).

Top Marine Debris Collected

1. Weathered Lumber – 185 Weathered / 0 Fresh

2. Plastic Bits >2.5 cm – 10 Weathered / 0 Fresh

3. Plastic Caps and Lids – 10 Weathered/ 0 Fresh

4. Aluminum foil – 4 Weathered/ 0 Fresh

5. Foam Bits >2.5 – 4 Weathered/ 0 Fresh

October 30, 2012 – South Beach

Today we started our surveys late in the afternoon, because according to local tide charts, low tide was coming just before dark. We completed two data surveys today, one at South Beach and one at Drake’s bay. We began first at South Beach, it was foggy and the wind was blowing around 0-5 knots. We started the study transect at meter 20 and finished up at meter 80. We collected 29 items of debris; 23 of which were plastic. We observed tangling of fishing line, balloon string and a Styrofoam buoy with kelp fronds along the wrack line. The plastic concentration percentage for today was 79%! See below for the top marine debris collected for today.

Top Marine Debris Collected:

1. Food Wrappers: 7 Weathered/ 1 Fresh

2. Styrofoam Bits (>2.5cm): 6 Weathered

3. Plastic Bits (>2.5cm): 3 Weathered

4. Styrofoam Bits (1.0-2.5cm): 2 Weathered

5. Net bits/rope (fishing gear): 2 Weathered

October 30, 2012 – Drake’s Beach

We began our survey today at Drake’s Beach, as the second of two (each one hour) late afternoon marine debris data surveys it was getting very cold, but the sun started breaking through the thick fog that was hanging over the water. Our study site stretched from 15 to 90 meters. The first two transects (at meter 15 and meter 30 respectively) had no debris; so of the 21 pieces of debris collected- all of them were from the last two transects (meter 70 and meter 90); we had a plastic concentration percentage of 62%. See below for the top marine debris collected for today.

Top Marine Debris Collected Today

1. Treated Lumber Bits: 5 Weathered/ 2 Fresh

2. Styrofoam Bits (>2.5cm): 2 Weathered

3. Plastic Oyster Tubes: 2 Weathered

4. Plastic Bags: 2 Fresh

5. Cigarette Butts: 2 Weathered

October 8, 2012 – Crissy Field

It is the first day after the America’s Cup World Series and we are doing our data collection between meter 5 and meter 80 on a beautiful clear sunny morning. The beach is filling up with early birds and their dogs so we selected our transects randomly (as always) and around today’s beach goers. We collected a total of 131 pieces of debris, and 97 pieces of plastic; this gives us a plastic concentration of 74%! As usual, cigarette butts seem to be among the top five marine debris collected, we noticed an abundance of them throughout monitoring of Crissy Field during America’s cup. See below for the top five marine debris collected today.

Top Marine Debris Collected

1. Cigarette Butts: 13 Fresh/14 Weathered

2. Food Wrappers: 9 Fresh/15 Weathered

3. Paper Bits: 8 Fresh/6 Weathered

4. Plastic Bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 9 Fresh/5 Weathered

5. Plastic Bits >2.5: 7 Fresh/3 Weathered

October 4, 2012 – Crissy Field

Today we started our data collection amidst the America’s Cup event, we started early to avoid crowds with fog looming above and wind blowing about 0-5 knots. Our study area today was between meter 15 and meter 85. We collected a heaping 190 pieces of debris, with a plastic concentration of 57.8% (110 pieces of plastic). See below for the top five marine debris collected.

Top Marine Debris Collected

1. Paper bits: 17 Fresh/12 Weathered

2. Cigarette butts: 19 Fresh/9 Weathered

3. Plastic Bits >2.5 cm: 3 Fresh/17 Weathered

4. Plastic Bits 1.0-2.5: 4 Fresh/14 Weathered

5. Treated Lumber: 17 Weathered

October 2, 2012 – Crissy Field

Continuing our monitoring of Crissy Field during America’s cup, today is the first day of the event. During data collection it was bright and sunny with no wind. As usual we selected four random transects; today they were between meter 25 and meter 90. We collected a total of 90 pieces of debris, 70 of which were plastic. The plastic concentration was 77.7% and the majority of debris found today was fresh debris; in other words, debris that has recently been discarded. See below for the top marine debris collected.

Top Marine Debris Collected

1. Cigarette Butts: 28 Fresh/4 Weathered

2. Food Wrappers: 7 Fresh/1 Weathered

3. Plastic bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 2 Fresh/5 Weathered

4. Paper bits: 5 Fresh

5. Styrofoam bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 1 Fresh/4 Weathered

September 27, 2012 – Crissy Field

Today we began our debris monitoring for the America’s Cup World Series Event in San Francisco. Crissy Field is the beach where many spectators and fans watch from during the duration of the event, which is October 2-7. We plan on collecting data prior to, during and immediately after America’s Cup to get a better perspective on impacts from littering from such a large event. Using the same study area, we selected four transects in the 100 meter study area between meters 10 and 95; the weather was overcast with some fog and there was a light breeze (about 0-5 knots). The total debris collected was 161 pieces with 114 bits of plastic, giving a plastic concentration of 70.8%. See below for the top marine debris collected for today.

Top Marine Debris Collected

1. Cigarette Butts: 27 Weathered/9 Fresh

2. Plastic Bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 16 Weathered/12 Fresh

3. Paper Bits: 6 Fresh/9 Weathered

4. Food Wrappers: 12 Fresh/2 Weathered

5. Cloth Bits: 10 Fresh/3 Weathered

August 28, 2012 – Limantour South
Today we completed our fifth data collection at Limantour Beach South, there were clear skies and no wind.  We completed our data collection between our four transects in our 100 meter study area between meter 15 and meter 70.  We collected 91 items of debris, with a plastic concentration of 56% (51 pieces of plastic collected total ).  See below for the top marine debris collected for today.  Outside of our transect; there is also a 460.5 square meter area of debris left by a ship wreck, all the large bits are gone but now it is littered with fiber glass, splintered wood, yellow foam and an endless list of other hazardous materials, we plan on looking into getting this cleaned up as well!

Top Marine Debris Collected
1.  Treated Lumber Bits: 19 Weathered/ 1 Fresh
2.  Plastic Bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 15 Weathered
3.  Plastic Bits >2.5 cm: 14 Weathered
4.  Foam Bits >2.5 cm: 8 Weathered
5.  Foam Bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 6 Weathered

August 27, 2012 – Crissy Field

Today the Marine Debris Action Team went to Crissy Field to collect our post America's Cup World Series data.  We sampled the 100 meter study area using our four random transects and collected 175 items of debris, 70 of which were plastic.  That’s a plastic debris percentage of 40%.  As of yet we found this was not significantly different than data collected prior to the races, which is good news for our Debris Team!  See below for the top marine debris collected.

Top Marine Debris Collected
1.   Cigarette Butts: 16 Weathered/ 24 Fresh
2.  Treated Lumber Bits: 32 Weathered/ 2 Fresh
3.  Plastic bits >2.5 cm: 17 Weathered/5 Fresh
4.  Caps/Lids: 6 Weathered/ 5 Fresh
5.  Plastic bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 9 Weathered/ 1 Fresh


August 27, 2012 – Baker Beach
At our fifth visit to Baker Beach today we collected 82 pieces of marine debris, with 32 pieces of plastic.  This makes our plastic concentration 39% using our sample area between 20 and 80 meters  With nice weather with zero fog cover and no wind it made our trip not only successful in data collection but also great scenery!

Top Marine Debris Collected
1.  Cigarette Butts: 11 Fresh/6 Weathered
2.  Plastic Bits >2.5 cm: 5 Weathered/ 2 Fresh
3.  Styrofoam Bits >2.5 cm: 7 Weathered/ 1 Fresh
4.  Styrofoam Bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 6 Weathered/ 1 Fresh
5.  Metal Bottle Caps: 3 Weathered/ 4 Fresh

August 23, 2012 – Crissy Field
Today we started our debris survey at Crissy Field, and used the study area between 10-70 meters .  It was overcast with very little wind.  This survey was done one week before America’s Cup World Series races in San Francisco Bay, and we are looking forward to comparing the data we collect next week after it has finished.  We found a total of 151 items, (115 Weathered and 36 Fresh) 74 of which were plastic; making our plastic concentration for today 49%. 

Top Marine Debris Collected
1.  Cigarette Butts: 29 Weathered/ 7 Fresh
2.  Food Wrappers: 12 Weathered/ 7 Fresh
3.  Paper Bits: 8 Weathered/ 10 Fresh
4.  Plastic Bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 22 Weathered/ 3 Fresh
5.  Plastic Bits >2.5 cm: 10 Weathered/ 3 Fresh

August 23, 2012 – Baker Beach
After Crissy Field, as is tradition, the Debris Action Team traveled over to Baker Beach.  We surveyed between 5meters and 60 meters, and found 99 debris items.  36 of the debris items found were plastic, giving us a plastic concentration of 36.4%. 

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1.  Cigarette Butts: 16 Weathered/ 11 Fresh
2.  Treated Lumber Bits: 19 Weathered
3.  Styrofoam bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 10 Weathered
4.  Food Wrappers: 4 Weathered/ 3 Fresh
5.  Caps/Lids: 1 Weathered/ 3 Fresh

July 20, 2012 – Rodeo Beach
Today was our third survey at Rodeo Beach, it was overcast with a brisk wind, around 0-5 knots.  We found 60 items total, 33 of which were plastic! That’s 55% plastic litter in today’s marine debris.  Our transects today stretched from 25-85 meters, giving us a pretty wide study area; and a better look at the beach as a whole.  Below is the list of top marine debris items found today in Rodeo Beach.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1.  Discarded Treated Lumber Bits: 13 Weathered
2.  Plastic bits >2.5 cm: 7 Weathered/ 3 Fresh
3.  Food Wrappers: 2 Weathered/ 3 Fresh
4.  Styrofoam bits 1.0-2.5 cm : 2 Fresh/ 1 Weathered
5.  Styrofoam bits >2.5 cm : 2 Fresh/ 4 Weathered

July 20, 2012 – Linda Mar Beach
We traveled to Linda Mar immediately after Rodeo today, within just an hour surveying the fog came rolling in and made visibility very low and soon the winds also started picking up.  We surveyed between 5 and 60 meters of our study area and found a total of 137 items; about 29.9% plastic.  Check out our top marine debris collected today below!

Top Marine Debris Collected
1.  Cigarette Butts: 11 Fresh/ 5 Weathered
2.  Styrofoam bits 1.0-2.5 cm : 8 Weathered/ 2 Fresh
3.  Styrofoam bits >2.5 cm: 4 Weathered/ 3 Fresh
4.  Plastic bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 6 Weathered/ 1 Fresh
5.  Plastic bits >2.5 cm: 4 Weathered/ 2 Fresh

July 17, 2012 - Baker Beach Survey #3

This suvey of Baker Beach occurred right after our survey of Crissy Field. There was a lot of fog as well as 5-10 mph wind. In total, we collected 73 items, 22 of which were plastics resulting in a relatvely low plastic percentage of 30% in the collected marine deris. The transect lengths ranged from 20-60 meters, creating a lot of variety in the amount of beach we were able to survey. Below is a list of the top marine debris items collected by our team at Baker Beach.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Cigarette Butts: 26 Fresh
2. Cigarette Butts: 13 Weathered
3. Caps/Lids: 5 Fresh
4. Styrofoam Bits: 5 Weathered
5. Food Wrappers: 4 Weathered

July 17, 2012 – Crissy Field Beach Survey #3

This survey of Crissy Field Beach proved to be fairly similar to our previous surveys. The transect lengths range from 30-45 meters and the weather was faily cloudy with 0-5 mile per hour winds. We collected a total of 95 marine debris objects, 59 of which were plastic, which means that 62% of the debris collected was in fact of plastic origin. Below is a list of the top five more common items found throughout this beach survey led by the Sea Turtle Restoration Network’s own marine debris action team.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Plastic Bits: 15 Fresh/8 Weathered
2. Lumber: 11 Fresh/4 Weathered
3. Food Wrappers: 10 Fresh/5 Weathered
4. Cigarette Butts: 10 Fresh/4 Weathered
5. Styrofoam Bits: 4 Weathered

July 4, 2012 – Palomarin Beach Survey #4
This survey of Palomarin Beach turned out to be rather interesting. In the middle of our transect site, we found a dead whale carcass which had been washed ashore. We slightly altered our choice in transect sites in order to avoid the whale. The transect lengths ranged from 25 to 32 meters. In these areas, we recorded 198 marine debris items, 67 of which were plastic. This is a relatively low percentage compared to other sites we have recently surveyed. Below are the top marine debris items found, and pictures from the survey!

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Lumber:  127 Weathered
2. Styrofoam Bits: 19 Weathered
3. Caps/Lids: 18 Weathered
4. Plastic Bits: 14 Weathered

Photo 1: Whale carcass found at Palomarin Beach.

Photo 2: Volunteer recordin data for the survey

June 28, 2012 - Crab Cove Beach Survey #1

Today we are very excited to announce that the Marine Debris Action Teams have added a new beach site for monitoring! Christine and Kirsten, two of the Turtle Island Restoration network’s interns, went out to Alameda’s Crab Cove beach at the low tide. The transect lengths along the beach ranged from 31 to 59 meters along the beach. In the four transects of the survey site, 375 items of marine debris were recorded. Of these items, 299 were plastics, making nearly 80% of the items found plastics. This is a site in which several groups of children with camps come to, and along the beach Christine and Kirsten found an abundance of items including shoes, clothing, beach balls, and other plastic toys. Below are the top items found during this survey, and a picture of Kirsten recording data.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Plastic Bits: 88 Weathered
2. Styrofoam Bits: 78 Weathered
3. Food Wrappers: 57 Weathered
4. Lumber: 28 Weathered
5. Straws/Utensils: 23 Weathered

June 27, 2012 - San Francisco Bay Survey #2

The second expedition to employ high-frequency radar to find hot-spots of marine debris in San Francisco Bay included media representatives from ABC and NBC News and used the amazing sail-power research vessel the Derek M. Bayless, captained by Jim "Homer" Holmes from The Clean Oceans Project. Having television media cameras there to document the trip added an extra level of excitement and validation for the work ahead of us. High winds caused much of the debris seen at convergence zones to rise and fall within the water column, making retrieval of the plastic pollution items more difficult than our previous trip. We removed over a dozen items from the convergence hot-spot that the radar mapped, and a few random items during our voyage.

Millions of San Francisco Bay Area residents learned about how endangered sea turtles ingest  plastic pollution or become entangled in it, often with deadly consequences, from interviews with Dr. Chris Pincetich of SeaTurtles.org on both NBC and ABC News! The fact is, over three thousand pieces of plastic have been seen in just one dead sea turtle.

Top Marine Debris Collected (San Francisco Bay):
1. Plastic Food Wrappers
2. Plastic Bags (ziplock & grocery types)
3. Styrofoam Bits

June 16, 2012 - San Francisco Bay Survey #1

An exploratory expedition was launched on San Francisco Bay to pilot-test new technology to locate marine debris on-water, to collect surface micro-plastic, and to record opportunistic encounters with surface macro-debris accumulations. This expedition could not have been completed without the continued partnership and support from The Clean Oceans Project and 5 Gyres. Using a small research vessel, high-frequency radar was successfully used to rapidly find on-water surface accumulations of macro-debris in convergence zones outside of Richardson Bay and Southeast of Angel Island.

At each accumulation zone, a manta trawl was deployed to collect surface micro-debris while observers tallied and collected macro-debris with dip-nets. This on-water Marine Debris Action Team method proved efficient and successful! Click here to read the full press release. Please help us find more boats to support this effort to target and cleanup marine debris and plastic pollution in the San Francisco Bay. Contact chris@tirn.net

Top Marine Debris Collected (San Francisco Bay):
1. Styrofoam Bits
2. Plastic Food Wrappers
3. Plastic Bags (ziplock & grocery types)

June 26, 2012 - Drakes Beach #7/South Beach #5

Today two of our interns Christine and Brittany, went to a couple different sites to do surveys for their Marine Debris Action Teams. The first site, Drakes Beach, had beach transect lengths from 47-60 meters long. There was suprisingly few debris found on this beach. 13 items were found in total, and 7 of these items were plastics, resulting in 53.8% plastics. The second beach surveyed in Point Reye was South Beach, had transect lengths of 42-44 meters. At this beach, a total of 16 item were found and all 16 were plastic! To the right is a picture from the survey.

June 23, 2012 – Stinson Beach
Today we randomly surveyed about a 40 meter area (from meter 35- meter 75) at Stinson Beach, there was some fog and winds at about 5 mph.  We collected an all time high of 473 items!  Over half of the items found were plastic, about 55.8%.  There was a large variety of items found on the beach, primarily Fresh items.  Below is listed the top marine debris items collected at Stinson Beach.

Top Marine Debris Collected
1.  Food Wrappers: 76 Fresh/ 7 Weathered
2.  Paper bits: 48 Fresh/ 28 Weathered
3. Cigarette butts: 25 Fresh/ 34 Weathered
4.  Plastic Bits >2.5 cm: 44 Fresh/ 12 Weathered
5.  Plastic Bits 1.0-2.5 cm: 21 Fresh/ 7 Weathered

June 13, 2012 – Rodeo Beach #2

This was our second survey at Rodeo Beach. There were clear skies and low tides when we did our survey, which was ideal for collecting data. We had transect lengths as long as 82 meters. In total, we collected 66 marine debris items, 42 of which were plastic meaning that this beach’s debris was nearly 64% plastic. Last time we found 85 items when we surveyed Rodeo Beach. Below is a list of the top marine debris items recorded. Also, to the left is a picture of Turtle Island's own intern Christine at the survey site!

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Lumber: 17 Weathered
2. Plastic Bits: 10 Weathered
3. Food Wrappers: 8 Weathered
4. Styrofoam Bits: 8 Weathered

May 8, 2012 - Limantour North Beach Survey #5 & Limantour South Beach Survey #4
This was our fifth survey of the north beach and our fourth survey of the south beach at Limantour. We were lucky enough at this survey to be joined by several students from Marin School Environmental Leadership and a NOAA marine biologist. At the Limantour South site, the transect lengths were from 59 to 66 meters. We collected a total of 54 marine debris items on this survey. At the Limantour North site, we found more than double the marine debris with 109 items in total. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey from both sites and a photo with the volunteers from the survey.

Top Marine Debris Collected (Limantour South):
1. Plastic Bits: 2 Fresh/14 Weathered
2. Styrofoam Bits: 1 Fresh/13 Weathered
3. Cigarette Butts: 2 Fresh/4 Weathered
4. Food Wrappers: 2 Fresh/2 Weathered

Top Marine Debris Collected (Limantour North):
1. Plastic Bits: 5 Fresh/51 Weathered
2. Caps and Lids: 2 Fresh/8 Weathered
3. Styrofoam Bits: 9 Weathered
4. Food Wrappers: 3 Fresh/2 Weathered
5. Lumber: 4 Weathered

Photo: Leadership students from Marin who helped with our beach survey!

March 30, 2012 – Rodeo Beach Survey #1
This was our first survey of Rodeo Beach. On this survey the weather was somewhat foggy with wind blowing at 5-10 mph. The transect lengths were longer than the majority of beaches we have surveyed, ranging from 60 to 70 meters.  We collected a total of 85 marine debris objects throughout our survey. In addition, we noted that there were considerable amounts weathered styrofoam at the edges of the beach beyond our surveyed area. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a few photos from the survey.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Lumber: 32 Weathered
2. Styrofoam Bits: 1 Fresh/28 Weathered
3. Plastic Bits: 10 Weathered
4. Food Wrappers: 5 Weathered

Photo 1: The group preparing for the survey.

Photo 2: Chris, the team leader, explaining surveying techniques.

Photo 3: Volunteers hard at work recording and collecting marine debris.

Photo 4: Marine debris found on the survey.

February 2, 2012 – Drakes Beach Survey #5
This survey took place on February 2 at Drakes beach in Marin. The weather was clear skies during the time the survey was performed (12:30 p.m. to 1:35 p.m.) and the transect lengths ranged from 35 to 43 meters from the edge of the beach to the ocean. In total, 97 pieces of marine debris were collected and recorded in the data set. In the previous survey done at Drakes Beach in December, only 28 marine debris objects were recorded which made the large number of debris found on this survey surprising. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Plastic Bits: 73 Weathered
2. Caps and Lids: 6 Weathered
3. Styrofoam Bits: 6 Weathered
4. Lumber: 6 Weathered

January 29, 2012 - Palomarin Beach Survey #3
This survey of Palomarin Beach with the third the Sea Turtle Restoration Network has taken part in. Our transect lengths in this survey ranged from 26 to 31 meters, and there were clear skies during our survey times. In total, we collected 265 pieces of marine debris from this survey. This differed greatly from our first Palomarin beach survey in July 2011 in which we collected only 88 marine debris objects or our second survey in November 2011 in which we collected 160 pieces or marine debris. This shows an increase in the amount of plastic pollution found on Palomarin beach. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the most recent survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Lumber: 121 Weathered
2. Plastic Bits: 43 Weathered
3. Styrofoam Bits: 34 Weathered
4. Caps and Lids: 24 Weathered
5. Food Wrappers: 9 Weathered
6. Shotgun Shells: 9 Weathered

January 26, 2012 – Limantour Beach Survey #4
This survey was done at Limantour Beach near the main parking, south of the trail exit. There were overcast skies on the day of this survey and the lengths of the transects ranged from 50 to 60 meters. We collected a total of 50 items in this survey. In a previous survey of this beach in November 2011, only 32 pieced of marine debris were recorded, despite the fact that this date had overall longer transects. In a survey done in July 2011, a set of data with more similar transect lengths, 63 objects were recorded in the survey. Finally, in March 2011, 73 objects were recorded which shows an overall decrease in the amount of marine debris being recorded at Limantour Beach. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the most recent survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Styrofoam Bits: 9 Weathered
2. Plastic Bits: 8 Weathered
3. Food Wrappers: 6 Weathered
4. Cigarette Butts: 4 Weathered

January 14, 2012 – Ferry Point Beach #1
This survey was done in the channel at Ferry Point Beach. There were clear skies and the transect lengths ranged from 12-15 meters, a relatively small length. However, a surprising 1,360 pieces of marine debris were found within this relatively small survey sight.  Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection. Also, check out the phtos below of our wonderful surveying voluneers!

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Glass Bits: 1012 Weathered, 72 Fresh
2. Plastic Bits: 103 Weathered, 8 Fresh
3. Styrofoam Bits: 65 Weathered
4. Food Wrappers: 16 weathered
5. Cigarette Butts: 16 weathered

Photo 1: Volunteer helping to survey.

Photo 2: One transect of the survey site and our loyal volunteer.

December 30, 2011 – Drakes Beach Survey #4
On this survey of Drakes Beach, transects ranged from 31-69 meters. There were clear skies and a breeze. In total, 23 pieces of marine debris were found on December 30, comparable to the 28 pieces of marine debris found on the October 30 data collection also from Drakes Beach, showing a rather consistent amount of marine debris being deposited on Drakes Beach. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on this survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from the data collection.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Food Wrappers: 3 Weathered, 8 Fresh
2. Plastic Bags: 6 Weathered
3. Styrofoam Bits: 4 Weathered
4. Caps and Lids: 3 Weathered, 3 Fresh
5. Oyster Tubes: 3 Weathered
6. Cigarette Butts: 3 Fresh

December 30, 2011 – South Beach Survey #3
On this survey, the transect lengths ranged from 44 to 55 meters. In total, 129 marine debris objects were collected. This compares to our previous survey of South Beach in June, where only 53 pieces of marine debris were collected with similar transect lengths. This shows a significant increase in marine debris being found at this site. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Styrofoam Bits: 71 Weathered
2. Food Wrappers: 19 weathered
3. Plastic Bits: 18 Weathered
4. Lumber: 5 Weathered
5. Cigarette Butts: 3 Weathered

December 29, 2011 – Camp Coast Beach South Survey #2
Our second survey of Camp Coast Beach took place on December 29. During the time of the survey the weather was overcast. The transect lengths ranged from 30 to 37.5 meters and throughout the survey, 21 pieces of marine debris were found, although the majority of the debris were found at the dune edge not at the water line. Previously, we found only 17 pieces of marine debris, which shows that these has been a consistent lack of marine debris on this beach. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection. We have also includeda few pictures of the debris collected!

Photo 1: Debris found at the survey site.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Styrofoam Bits: 12 Weathered
2. Food Wrappers: 6 Weathered
3. Balloon Bit: 1 Weathered
4. Aluminum Foil Bit: 1 Weathered
5. Paper: 1 Weathered

Photo 2: Transects along the surveying area.

December 28, 2011 – Baker Beach Survey #1
This was the first survey we have done at Baker Beach in San Fancisco. There were clear skies during surveys, and the transect length ranged from 31-47 meters. Throughout the survey, we collected a total of 74 marine debris items. In the third transect, there were fishermen whose presence may have affected our data slightly. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Styrofoam Bits: 8 Fresh, 22 Weathered
2. Cigarette Butts: 9 Fresh, 6 Weathered
3. Food Wrappers: 2 Fresh, 2 Weathered
4. Plastic Bits: 4 Weathered

December 28, 2011 – Crissy Field Beach Survey #1
This was our first survey at Crissy Field Beach in San Francisco. This survey was taken just after a holiday weekend, which may have affected our results. The skies were clear ant transect lengths averaged about 40 meters long. We collected in total 119 objects recorded as marine debris. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection survey.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Styrofoam Bits:6 Fresh, 28 Weathered
2. Plastic Bits: 9 Fresh, 24 Weathered
3. Cigarette Butts: 9 Fresh, 17 Weathered
4. Food Wrappers: 4 Weathered
5. Aluminum Foil: 6 Weathered

November 20, 2011 - Limantour North Beach Survey #3/South Beach Survey #3
This is the third survey we have done on the Northern part of Limantour Beach. During this survey there were overcast skies with transect lengths from 64 to 72 meters. It was also the third survey done on the Southern part of Limantour Beach. During this survey the skies became more overcast and the transect lengths ranged from 46 to 50 meters. 32 marine debris items were collected at the Northern site and 49 marine debris items were found at the Southern site. Below you can see the most common marine debris found at the Northern and Southern Beach Sites, as well as a GPS image of both surveys.

Top Marine Debris Collected (North):
1. Plastic Bits: 17 Weathered
2. Plastic Toys: 5 Fresh
3. Food Wrappers: 3 Weathered
4. Caps and Lids: 2 Weathered

Top Marine Debris Collected (South):
1. Plastic Bits: 20 Weathered
2. Aluminum Foil: 6 Weathered
3. Cigarette Butts: 5 Weathered
4. Straws and Utensils: 5 Weathered
5. Food Wrappers: 2 Fresh, 1 Weathered

October 31, 2011 – Drakes Beach Survey #3
This was our third survey of Drakes Beach. In this survey the transect lengths ranged from 31 to 69 meters. Skies were clear although there was some wind. At transect 3, there was a fire pit built with signs of recent activity we noted. We collected a total of 28 marine debris items throughout the survey. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection survey. We have also included a photo from the survey.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Food Wrappers: 8 Weathered, 3 Fresh
2. Caps and Lids: 3 Weathered, 2 Fresh
3. Oyster Tubes: 3 Weathered
4. Cigarette Butts: 2 Fresh, 1 Weathered

August 18, 2011 – Coast Camp South Beach Survey #1
This was our first survey of Coast Camp South. The transect lengths ranged from 42 to 45 meters. This site was relatively free of marine debris. We only collected a total of 17 pieces of marine debris throughout our entire survey. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection survey. We have also included a picture of the group of wonderful volunteers that made this beach survey possible!

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Styrofoam Bits: 7 Weathered
2. Bags: 3 Weathered
3. Plastic Bits: 2 Fresh, 1 Weathered
4. Tape: 2 Fresh

September 17, 2011 – Coastal Clean Up Day
On September 17, members from the Turtle Island Restoration Network joined with members of the Marin Community to clean up Stinson Beach, one of the favorite beaches in Marin. Overall, a very successful beach clean-up! Although we did not take data at this event, we did take some pictures of our awesome volunteers!

Photo 1:Voluneers with the Turtle Island Restoration Network Table

Photo 2: Debris found at the clean up site.

July 1, 2011 - Palomarin Beach Survey #1
This was our first trip to Palomarin Beach. The weather was clear and sunny and the transect lengths were between 20 and 30 meters. In total, we collected 88 marine debris items, including items such as a firework popper, plastic toy head, and a Christmas wreath which we do not usually see on beach surveys. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection survey, as well as a few photos!

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Plastic Bits: 20 Weathered
2. Styrofoam Bits: 16 Weathered
3. Caps and Lids: 15 Weathered
4. Food Wrappers: 7 Weathered
5. Shotgun shells: 5 Weathered

Photo 1: Palomarin Beach

Photo 2: Marine debris found at the survey site.

June 30, 2011 – South Beach Survey #2
This was our second survey at South Beach. The conditions during this survey were cloudy and windy. The transect lengths ranged from 41 to 43 meters, showing a relatively even coastline. During this survey we collected a total of 53 objects we considered to be marine debris. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection survey.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Styrofoam Bits: 39 Weathered
2. Food Wrappers: 2 Fresh,4 Weathered
3. Plastic Bags: 5 Weathered
4. Plastic Bits: 2 Weathered

March 28, 2011 – Limantour North Beach Survey #1
In this beach survey we made our first visit to the Northern part of Limantour Beach. This survey was done in the evening when it was cool, windy, and partly cloudy. We collected a total of 73 marine debris items. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection survey, as well as some pictures from the survey!

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Plastic Bits: 46 Weathered
2. Plastic Bags: 1 Fresh, 9 Weathered
3. Straws and Utensils: 3 Weathered
4. Nets and rope: 3 Weathered

Photo 1: Rope found at the survey site.

Photo 2: Plastic bit found at site

March 27, 2011 – Limantour South Beach Survey #1
This was our first survey of the southern part of Limantour beach. In this survey, the transect lengths were each approximately 45 meters and there was a light rain, which may have affected our results. We collected 106 marine debris items during this survey. Below is a list of the most common debris collected on the survey and a GPS recording of surveying patterns from this data collection survey.

Top Marine Debris Collected:
1. Plastic Bits: 71 Weathered
2. Styrofoam Bits: 1 Fresh, 9 Weathered
3. Plastic Bags: 2 Fresh, 2 Weathered
4. Caps and Lids: 4 Weathered
5. Straws and Utensils: 4 Weathered
6. Nets and rope: 4 Weathered

Above: Dr. Chris Pincetich and Marc Ward collecting debris along a remote sea turtle nesting beach in Costa Rica. This was one of the first SeaTurtles.org Marine Debris Action Team expeditions and benefited immensely from the partnership with Sea Turtles Forever.