Project looks at marine debris

Park Beach is Coffs Harbour’s dirtiest beaches, with an average of 80 pieces of rubbish for every 50 metres.

This is one of the findings from a Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (NRCMA) research project into marine debris across the Mid North and North Coast region, delivered by Southern Cross University’s National Marine Science Centre (NMSC) and led by Associate Professor Steve Smith.

Professor Steve Smith said as part of the study, third-year students in the Bachelor of Marine Science Management degree and Masters students recently surveyed three beaches in the Coffs Coast – Park Beach, Jetty Beach and Diggers Beach. This follows a previous survey, conducted in 2007, that also formed a part of their study program.

“In the current survey, the northern end of Park Beach was the worst of the three beaches with on average 80 pieces of rubbish per 50 metres of beach. Adjacent to the storm water drains we found 225 pieces of rubbish in a single 50 metre stretch, including 103 cigarette butts,” Professor Smith said.

“At the two other beaches we found less than one-quarter of that amount of rubbish.

“This work feeds directly into the long-term collection of data on marine debris for the region. We have just released a draft research report to the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority which quantifies marine debris, using the results from these surveys, specific assessments at key beach and reef locations across the Mid North and North Coast region, and historical data.”

Professor Smith said the key recommendation in the report to the NRCMA was the need for a regional-scale review of litter management strategies.

“All of our coastal councils have litter management strategies, but some are more effective than others,” he said.

“We have found that even some of the remote beaches have large quantities of debris. This is from storm events, wind and the transport of rubbish out of estuaries and stormwater drains.

“We also found marine debris, mostly fishing line, on most reefs across the region.”

Professor Smith said the most common type of marine debris was plastics, particularly broken down pieces of polystyrene – which is commonly used in foam packaging products, bean bag fillers and ‘coolite’ surfboards.

“The biggest risk is to large marine organisms which ingest the debris or become entangled. The research we are doing is trying to document how much rubbish there is with a view to reducing it. There are quite a lot of organisations already doing good work and many individuals, who pick up rubbish when they are out walking on the beach, are helping," he said.

“What we need is a much greater awareness of the impacts of marine debris and an understanding that wherever someone drops rubbish it can still end up in the gutter and stormwater drains, eventually making its way into our marine environment. This has severe consequences for marine life and all of us who enjoy our marine environment.”

Media opportunity: Associate Professor Steve Smith (pictured) will be available for interview at 11am, Friday, October 15, at the northern end of Park Beach.