Marine debris

Usually, when I post on this blog, I'm telling you stories of science in progress. Either I'm in the field collecting samples, or I'm crunching numbers in a dataset. Sometimes, I tell you about the end result of science: a published paper. But sometimes, the work doesn't end when my paper hits the press. Sometimes, a whole new project develops out of one that's just finished. 

I'm experiencing a new beginning this week, as a brand-new project grows out of one I already completed. You can think of this project as Stellwagen 2.0. Back in 2019-2020, I led a team investigating shipwrecks in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. We went to sea on a small boat, used a robot to record videos, and analyzed the communities that lived on four shipwrecks. My team published a total of 4 papers and a book chapter based on our data. We penetrated the Portland shipwreck for the very first time. We held telepresence broadcasts and reached thousands of students around the world. We even developed a novel intellectual framework for our interdisciplinary research. The Stellwagen project was a huge success. 

Now comes its successor. One of the major findings of my team's research in 2019-2020 was that fishing nets pose a huge threat to underwater cultural heritage in Massachusetts. We found nets entangled on each of the shipwrecks we studied. There was a large trawl net on the Portland bow and monofilament on the Palmer and Crary. We even found a chain laying across Portland's dislodged fantail stern, requiring little forensic inference to reconstruct what had happened. Our observations were clear: fishermen were losing their gear, and historic shipwrecks were being destroyed. We couldn't just write a paper and walk away. We had to do something. 

Thankfully, the right call for proposals came along at just the right time. I assembled a team, wrangled the paperwork into submission, and just got the good news. We were selected for funding. 

My new project focuses on tackling the problem of marine debris on shipwrecks in Massachusetts. It is going to be a massive undertaking. The core project team is spread across 3 groups at WHOI and a collaborating institution (the Center for Coastal Studies). We developed partnerships with organizations across the state - non-profits, federal managers, state managers, historical boards, fishing groups, even environmental police. We are bringing every relevant party to the table and identifying solutions together. If we can help it, no fisherman will fear trawling over a shipwreck, and no shipwreck will get damaged by a net ever again. 

The project is just launching but has already generated some press. Check out the links below, and stay tuned for updates over the next few years! This is my first foray into environmental policy, so it will certainly be a learning experience!

WHOI's press release about our marine debris project

Commonwealth News Service story

My interview with WCAI about the project