Virginia CZM Plan to Reduce Marine Debris
2021-2025 Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan
This plan is a roadmap for working together on sustained approaches to reduce the flow of plastic and other litter.
Virginia CZM published the plan with input from many partners, including a Leadership Team.
The plan revolves around major goals to reduce consumer debris, derelict fishing gear, microplastics and abandoned/derelict vessels. This format aligns with NOAA’s 2021-2026 Mid-Atlantic Regional Marine Debris Action Plan, which includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
Video overview of the plan - (full video; 5:40)
Consumer Debris, including Single-Use Plastic (section; 1:38)
Derelict Fishing Gear, and aquaculture-related debris (section: 1:22)
Microplastics and Microfibers (section; 1:45)
Abandoned and Derelict Vessels (section; 1:24)
Virginia CZM is currently working with its partners on a revision of the Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan. The 2026-2030 plan will be released in 2025.
Background
In October 2014, Virginia became the first state on the east coast to publish a Marine Debris Reduction Plan.
The 2014-2020 plan grew out of the program’s 2010 Coastal Needs Assessment, where marine debris ranked as a high priority. It was developed by a Leadership Team, led by the Virginia CZM Program and its grantee, Clean Virginia Waterways. The team included representatives from government, academia, nonprofit organizations, businesses, experts in marine debris issues, and other stakeholders. Publication of a marine debris reduction plan was an important goal of the Virginia CZM Program’s FY 2011-2015 Ocean Management Strategy.
2014-2020 Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan -
Virginia's first plan was organized around five themes:
- influencing individual behavior change
- increasing collaboration among partners and projects to prevent and remove litter and marine debris
- increasing knowledge of marine debris
- identifying and securing funding
- Informing changes in laws and policies to reduce the sources of marine debris
Visit Clean Virginia Waterway's for more information about Virginia's marine debris reduction efforts - http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/MarineDebrisPlan.html
Learn more about Virginia's participation in the annual International Coastal Cleanup - http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/GetInvolvedPage.html
Virginia Marine Debris Response Guide
The purpose of this guide, published by Virginia CZM's partner the NOAA Marine Debris Program, is to improve preparedness for response and recovery operations following an acute waterway debris incident in coastal Virginia.
Contact Ryan Green, Tim.Green@deq.virginia.gov, for more information about the program’s growing involvement in ocean health and management issues as a founding member of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO).
