Marine debris – everything from debris from damaged docks to plastic bags—harms wildlife, damages coastal habitats, and impacts coastal recreation and tourism.

The Federation launched its marine debris program in 2018 in response to the massive amount of storm debris and other trash littering our coast in the wake of Hurricane Florence. Since then, the Federation has removed over 3.5 million pounds of debris from our coast through volunteer cleanups, by working with marine contractors to remove over a
hundred abandoned vessels and by hiring debris removal teams armed with barges and heavy equipment to remove large debris like construction materials and debris from
damaged docks. This work also includes the Federation’s unique Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project, which started in the northeast region in 2014 and employs fishermen every January to take to the water to locate and remove thousands of lost crab pots.

Your Coins For Conservation donations will support the Federation’s work on the coast like this important work to keep our coastal environment a clean and vibrant place for
both wildlife and recreation. Your support will allow us to continue to remove huge amounts of marine debris every day and also work to prevent new debris at its source.