How Much Plastic Do You Want In Your Orcas and Salmon?
Concerns about plastic in our marine environments are increasing—as they should! Every week new articles appear across news media and scientific journals, documenting the marine plastics disaster. The devastating impacts, and escalating dangers are clear. So we ask, “How much plastic do you want in your orcas and salmon?” Similarly, “How much plastic will we tolerate in our marine ecosystems?”
Governor Inslee establishes Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery and Task Force with Executive Order 18-02
The geoduck aquaculture industry embeds approximately 8 miles of PVC pipe per acre in pristine intertidal habitat areas of Puget Sound, mostly in South Sound. Based on the approximate weight per acre calculations provided by the geoduck industry, 4 inch schedule 10 PVC tubes, the smallest size used, weigh about 32,000 pounds, or 16 tons per acre of PVC. The best current estimate according to the Shellfish Aquaculture Regulatory Commission, as of June 1, 2010, suggests there are currently 364 acres of active geoduck farms in Puget Sound. This represents nearly 3 thousand miles, 12 million pounds or 6 thousand tons of PVC in Puget Sound from geoduck aquaculture. If one assumes that at any given time only one-third of all geoduck farms have PVC tubes installed in the tidelands, then this would yield about 1 thousand miles, 4 million pounds or 2 thousand tons of PVC.
Presentation that documents the harm to Washington Marine Life, Including Whales–
Charles Moore Presentation to the Shoreline Hearings Board:
KCTS asks: How Much Plastic Do You Want In Your Oysters and Clams?
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