April 21, 2023
NOAA Sea Grant Announces $27M to
Further Community-Engaged
Marine Debris Removal and Prevention
NOAA Sea Grant is pleased to announce $27 million in projects that will address the prevention and removal of debris in marine and Great Lakes environments throughout the U.S. Using Sea Grant’s partnered approach to bring science together with communities for solutions that work, the projects will support transformational research and the creation of local coalitions to address urgent marine debris prevention and removal needs.
“Marine debris is a pervasive problem, negatively impacting local economies, tourism, wildlife and ecosystems, and human health. The work supported by these projects presents exciting opportunities to tackle a wide range of debris issues, such as microplastics, single-use food packaging and derelict fishing gear, using an assortment of innovative approaches informed by and implemented with communities” said Jonathan Pennock, director of NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program. 

The projects were competitively selected through two opportunities supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and leveraging funds from the Inflation Reduction Act: The Marine Debris Challenge Competition and The Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions.


This work is a component of $562 million in targeted investments for NOAA announced today in the areas of coastal resilience and habitat restoration through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with funds leveraged from the Inflation Reduction Act, to help America build resilience to climate change.
Top image: Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP) staff remove marine debris from the shorelines of Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll). Hawai'i Sea Grant is partnering with PMDP on a project selected from the Marine Debris Challenge Competition to remove derelict fishing gear from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Image by Andy Sullivan-Haskins | PMDP.

Left image: (top) Volunteers with Sea Grant’s Trawl to Trash program help assemble bags from shrimp nets that would have been discarded, (bottom) which are used to remove marine debris from the environment. The Trawl to Trash program will be expanded upon through a project selected from the Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions opportunity. Images from Georgia Sea Grant.