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.

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.

Youth Ocean Explorers from St. Thomas had the rare opportunity to participate in the National Park Service's Sea Turtle Monitoring Program on Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. Croix.

It is likely that coral reef interventions will soon be available for use in the USVI to support the survival of coral reefs in the face of thermal stress, disease, pollution, and ecological change.