AMDI Network

AMDI Network

Australian Marine Debris Initiative Information Page

The Australian Marine Debris Initiative is a network of communities, schools, industries, government agencies and individuals focused on reducing the amount of marine debris washing into our oceans.

On every beach around Australia you will find some form of marine debris, from litter left by visitors to international debris, to ghost nets or rubbish washed from far inland through stormwater drains.

The statistics are horrifying with the United Nationals’ Regional Seas Program estimating more than 18,000 pieces of plastic in each square kilometre of ocean; and other research estimating more than 8 million tonnes of debris entering the world’s oceans each year. The majority of this marine debris is plastic, which due to its chemical makeup is a long lasting material. Plastics, once released into the environment, never biodegrade, instead photodegrading breaking into smaller and smaller pieces of the original item, forever remaining in the environment.

The Australian Marine Debris Initiative is a way that everyone can become involved in both the removal of marine debris and finding solutions to stop the flow of rubbish into our oceans.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

The Australian Marine Debris Initiative includes:

  • Marine debris and beach clean up events
  • On-going marine debris monitoring programs
  • Presentations on the marine debris issue
  • Workshops on mitigation strategies on marine debris
  • The Australian Marine Debris Database
  • Educational resources and clean up materials

If you are interested in joining the Australian Marine Debris Initiative or finding out more send us an email to info@tangaroablue.org

NETWORK NEWS

 

NSW – Shipping container debris washes ashore

Carmen Torraca

Eurobodalla Shire Council Media Alert

Southeast swells have brought more than crashing waves to Eurobodalla’s coastline, as takeaway containers and facemasks wash onto the shire’s beaches.

Eurobodalla Council’s manager of environmental services Deb Lenson said these were the first deposits to reach Eurobodalla following a shipping container spill in May.

“The APL England lost 50 shipping containers into the sea while en route to Melbourne,” Ms. Lenson said.

The Tangaroa Blue Foundation has been tracking the spilled debris since the containers were lost. Council’s environmental education officer Bernadette Davis said items like plastic takeaway containers and unused facemasks had begun washing ashore yesterday. Read more “NSW – Shipping container debris washes ashore”

Let’s Strain the Drains in Melbourne

Carmen Torraca

A Victorian first, the Let’s Strain the Drains project targeted upstream sources of pollutants by installing and monitoring 120 at-source litter traps in the stormwater infrastructure of six metropolitan councils around Port Phillip Bay. Being a significant transport pathway for pollutants, stormwater is a key piece of the marine debris puzzle as it acts as an outflow point for litter in urban runoff. Monitoring work took place from November 2019 to May 2020 and involved six community audit events where 94 volunteers helped to sort and count all captured litter items for inclusion in the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database. Read more “Let’s Strain the Drains in Melbourne”

The impossible float

The Impossible Float

Caroline Laux

I was moulded in a kiln by man in a factory by hand the silica mined from sand

The heat I’m moulded to take my very shape, to float upon the the waves and bound by my rope.

Ah my rope my protector we float together upon the waves working as one to stay afloat.

My purpose to float I will do for man to be thrown and fetched by hand for the catch for another man.

I am not just a float for I will break free and set out upon the sea.

What will my journey be, how far will I journey what will I see, whales, birds, turtles all the creatures of the sea. Read more “The Impossible Float”

vietnamese water bottle

Vietnamese Debris Links to Illegal Fishing Vessels

Caroline Laux

Tangaroa Blue Foundation provided information to both the Northern Australian Quarantine strategy and the Australian Border Force (ABF) after hundreds of Vietnamese water bottles were documented during the 2016 Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) events in Cape York.

As part of Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI), volunteers not only record how many of each item has been found during beach/river clean-ups, but also any brand and barcode information that might be on the item to help track it back to the source. Read more “Vietnamese Debris Links to Illegal Fishing Vessels”

Page 3 of 19