Shellfish Growers Set to Rid Beaches of Tons of Trash on Thursday

olympia beach clean-up
Photo courtesy Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association
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Submitted by Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association

olympia beach clean-up
Local shellfish growers will hit the beaches for a clean-up on October 16. Photo courtesy Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association

The Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association (PCSGA) will hold their 17th biannual beach clean-up on Thursday, October 16.

For the past nine years the PCSGA has conducted spring and fall beach clean-ups.  During this time over 850 cubic yards of debris have been collected.  This amounts to 85 dump trucks of trash removed from South Puget Sound.  In addition, the biannual clean-ups have collected over 1000 tires.  Notably, aquaculture debris comprises only a small portion of the debris collected each year.  The bulk of the debris – well over 80% – is comprised of Styrofoam, tires, and public trash.

This year, crews from several different shellfish farms, the Squaxin and Nisqually tribes, and the Pacific Shellfish Institute will be picking up marine debris that collected through the summer months.  Crews will cover 100 miles of beach in several inlets including:  Eld, Totten, Henderson, Hammersley, Case and Carr.  Crews will also be on Squaxin, Harstine, Hope and Anderson Islands and in Oakland Bay.

After debris is collected from beaches, it is brought to a landing point at either National Oyster Company or the Arcadia boat ramp.  Aquaculture debris is separated from the general debris, categorized and counted.  Any aquaculture debris that can be reused or recycled is set aside for those purposes.  The PCSGA uses the information collected to identify the sources of any aquaculture debris and work with responsible growers to prevent future release of those materials from their farms.

Shoreline residents and the public should be aware that rain or shine, these crews will be along the beach with the goal of removing debris from Puget Sound.

Contact PCSGA at 360-754-2744 if you know of an area that needs attention or if you don’t want people accessing your beach.  Throughout the year, you can also contact PCSGA’s marine debris hotline at 1-800-964-6532.

Support for this event and the marine debris hotline comes from funds raised through SLURP – PCSGA’s annual shellfish and wine festival which is held every spring in Olympia.

 

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