Rota students attend int’l confab on marine debris

Students and teachers from Rota High School had the rare opportunity to talk with Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of the late Jacque Cousteau, about marine issues while attending the International Marine Debris Conference in Hawaii earlier this month.

The conference focused on the mounting issue of marine debris and derelict fishing gear that accumulate in the ocean every year.

Sponsored by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the National Ocean Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce, the conference hosted panelists and participants from around the world, including Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Chile and the US mainland.

Through the efforts of Patty Miller a specialist in Kid Science, the Marine Sanctuary and a generous donation from Hawaii’s Senator Inouye, 20 students from various islands around the Pacific also joined the conference to learn as well as to contribute to the conference agenda.

Students from Rota, Yap, Palau, the Marshall Islands, American Samoa, Maui, Oahu and St. Paul Island in Alaska shared experiences with marine debris from their respective islands in the production of a video segment presented the opening day of the conference.

Students also collected trash and created models that became centerpieces for conference initiatives; and finally presented their recommendations to conference participants in the form of a play.

Among the greatest benefits reaped from student attendance were sharing personal audiences with government officials and interacting with their Pacific peers, recognizing that youth have a voice and valid concerns regarding the marine environment.

Students shared experiences of using debris to construct boats for community paddling events, cleaning beaches of local picnic trash, participating in community reef checks and disentangling northern fur seals in a student based stewardship program in Alaska’s Pribilof Islands.

Of the marine debris found worldwide, 80 percent is land based while the remainder is ocean based, from cargo and cruise ships and fishing vessels.

Cousteau’s keynote address and subsequent talk with the Pacific Island students was the highlight and culmination of a week working toward a common goal.

He impressed upon students and participants that the world is “facing a crisis not of the head, but of the heart.” Marine debris is an ethical problem.

To continue efforts toward the reduction and identification of marine debris and toward the promotion of community awareness, students and community members of Rota will be participating in the 3rd annual Project AWARE International Clean up on Saturday September 16, 2000.