Do You Know What's in the USVI Red Hook Mangroves?

The Marine Debris Action Plan (MDAP) team has been hosting annual Great Mangrove Cleanups since 2018 at sites across the US Virgin Islands. The most recent cleanup on St. Thomas took place on April 24th, 2021 along the National Park Road in Red Hook. The event was a success, bringing together 54 members of the community and resulted in the removal of 1,707 lbs of marine debris!

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MARINE DEBRIS, EDUCATION, RESEARCH, VI-EPSCoR Elisa Bryan MARINE DEBRIS, EDUCATION, RESEARCH, VI-EPSCoR Elisa Bryan

The Tide is Turning on Marine Debris in the Territory

Our islands are vulnerable to marine debris. Marine debris affects our everyday life, from the awful sight of it on our beaches, to the economic toll that it can take on our tourism industry. In the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), approximately 90% of marine debris comes from land-based sources. It is up to us to prevent and reduce the amount of marine debris that ends up on our shorelines.

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MARINE DEBRIS Elisa Bryan MARINE DEBRIS Elisa Bryan

The 2019 Great Mangrove Cleanup

The 2nd Annual Great Mangrove Cleanup of the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER), took place Saturday, April 13. STEER is a vital marine protected area on the east end of St. Thomas. One hundred and fifteen volunteers, ages 9-70, removed 1,786 pounds of debris from mangrove shorelines in kayak-based and land-based cleanups of mangrove shorelines.

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