Harvest Goes Into the Blue: Update
Exploring the South Pacific Trash Islands
from John-Paul Garcia
Moorea
Spring time Mexico, and I'm sitting with Mary Osborne on a crowded beach waiting for my heat to come up. We begin talking about her trip to the Atlantic Gyre miles away. Before long, I'm thinking about this expedition, traveling on a research boat assisting in a continued study of the plastic pollution in our oceans. The players, the 5 Gyres and the Pangea Explorations. Between these two organizations, a lot of research has been conducted help scientists and researchers gather important data to track the amounts, source, and type of contaminants floating in our seas. Before boarding the "Sea Dragon" our 74 ft sailboat, we spent sometime in Moorea exploring some of the atolls and nearby reefs on our SUP's. Here's a glimpse of my log:
Day 1 - May 3rd
We set off on our adventure, Justin and myself, loaded up with about 200 plus pounds of camera gear, surfboards, and clothing. One stop at Mary's Secret Garden (epic vegan spot in Ventura) for one last solid meal and off to LAX. Once we parked our car, we set out to the airport. We got dropped off at our terminal to find no lines and a empty road to the counter. Once we approached the desk we were told that we were at the wrong terminal. Good news, the right terminal was at the opposite end if the airport. So we hoofed it and made it on time and tired as hell from carrying all our stuff across the airport. I think I may have lost about 5 pounds of water on that walk, I tend to sweat a little bit. We board our plane and we are off.
Day 2 - May 4th
There's nothing like 9 hours in a plane with a sore back. The only thing I kept reminding myself of was that Tahiti was on the other end of this plane ride. We landed at about 6 am local time, no sun, 81 degrees, and friendly people greeting us in french and putting plumerias in our hair. Here is a list of our expenses with in the first 4 hours of our arrival.
▪ $5 - bottle of water
▪ $35 - taxi to ferry
▪ $30 - ferry
▪ $130 - Camp Nelson - for two nights
▪ $35 - fish sandwich, coke, and fries
▪ $6 - internet card
▪ $60 - cab to camp nelson
▪ $190 - baggage fee
Bottom line ... F*@#en expensive.
We found shelter at a spot called "Camping Nelson". A quaint little spot on the beach, very chill, and an owner that could scare the devil himself. Let's just say, not very friendly. Once we were settled in, we went for a paddle. Warm, clear , and absolutely B-E-A-utiful. Crystal clear water that could only be compared to a pool. Cruising around on my SUP, I saw a spotted ray about 1 ft in diameter, and a second larger ray about 3 plus feet in diameter. It was so graceful to watch as it was gliding over the sand bottom. Lastly, one beer bottle, extracted from the bottom of the sea and put into a recycling bin. Even in the bluest, most pristine environment, we still find trash where it does not belong.
Day 3 - May 5th
THUNDER CLAP! Woke up at 4:30 am wide-eyed and wired to start the day. The night before I could see every star in the sky, this morning it was pouring a thousand tiny dancers all over the tin roofs. Not the ideal situation for surf or much of any kind of outdoor activity. Good news is that despite the grim outlook on the weather for the next several days, I am getting pretty stoked on the arrival of the Sea Dragon. We should be boarding in the next few days and begin our expedition towards the Cook Islands on our mission to research the presence of plastics in the waters here.
Day 4 - May 6th
Woke up at my usual 4:30 am time slot. Jet lag sucks. By 7 am I went for a paddle to the outer reef for about an hour. Within the first 10 minutes I came across a few rays. My highlight had to be a moray eel that caught the corner if my eye as I swept on by. This was the highlight until I came across two Lemon sharks about 6 ft in length. I have never been his close to sharks of this size but it was an amazing experience. The beauty and grace that these elegant predators was breath taking, and a bit of a pulse raiser. Later that day after getting hosed on looking for a ride to find surf, we decided to go for another paddle to look for some large rays. On this trip however, I saw a black tip reef shark pass underneath me which was awesome. Once we got to the the island, we found a huge ray that had been trained by somebody and was very friendly. I had an opportunity to touch the ray and get a new perspective on these animals. Night was filled with rain drops and dreams of tomorrows offering ... waves.
Day 5 - May 7th
Mary shows up and we go on a mission to find some surf. We end up meeting up with several members of the Pangea Explorations. Ironically they were staying in the same place that we have been at for the past few days. After a few introductions, one of the guys had a truck so we went off in search of some surf. We went to a spot called Hapitee which is known for its lefts, stoked. The weather had a turn for the worse and in addition to the surf being small, the winds were the wrong direction. The 3 of us, Justin, Mary and myself did a small photo shoot and then discovered this amazing pizza place called "Daniel's Pizza". An absolutely delightful experience. Great food, service, and smiles to match. A new adventure lies for us on the other side of the sunrise, who knows what stories lie ahead.
Rarotonga or Bust
For days now I had been hearing stories of the crew I was about to meet. Stories of Captain Dale, Jeffery the slayer and a few others. On the day that we arrived we had made plans to dine with the crew. This allowed us to become familiar with the people we were about to set sail with the night before departure. The morning had come and everyone was ready to hit the seas. Packed up, well rested, and wind at our sails, we left Tahiti. Justin, Mary and myself were a bit disappointed to find out that the Sea Dragon had been unable to secure some permits for trawling in the Tahitian waters. This meant that the first two days were going to be spent sailing and not much research was going to be done. This may have been a blessing in disguise because there were several people on board that suffered from sea sickness, myself included. Warm, stuffy, humid, rocky conditions were the setting for this first time sailor.
The Sea Dragon is a mono hulled 74 ft racing sailboat. The speed of the Dragon varied from 4-12 knots, averaging 6-8 knots on this trip. If we were to fly to Rarotonga it would take 3 hours, sailing ... 5 days. The sleeping quarters were hammocks, one laying over the other, in two rows that encircled the stern. It was a bit musty down there at times, especially if any of the crew were have digestive issues. You were regulated to de-salinated water while on board. This water really made me appreciate our local tap water, thats how good it was.While on the ship we were divided into groups of four people that rotated every 4 to 6 hours. While you were on shift, these were some of the duties you were required to do:
- Maintain the sails, ropes, etc
- Clean dishes, toilets, floors, etc
- Cook meals
- Drive the Sea Dragon
- Enter data into the logs
- Watch on deck for other vessels or debris
- Assist with trawling
THE CREW
Of the 14 members on board the Sea Dragon, 6 were American, the others were from England, New Zealand, and Australia. Every Night we would all eat together up on deck and share stories. At times, it felt like a think tank, listening to empowering ideas from around the world. One gentleman in particular, Peter, was from Australia. He had traveled all over the world and had some great talks from his experiences. One night in particular, we were sharing ideas on what each person could do independently back home to help with environmental issues. One point that Peter brought up was the difference in how someone can approach encouraging people to make better choices. On one end, you could impose change by creating a law that imposes a new order that must be followed. A forced situation with consequences. Or, you could create an avenue where the initiated change is both fun and engaging and is made optional to the population. No negative repercussions in this model. The example Peter used, was the use of escalators versus stairs. A group found a way to encourage people to reduce the amount of foot traffic in this transit station, while promoting a healthier way of being. In this example, people were mainly using the escalator versus the stairs. To encourage more people to use the stairs, each step was designed to look and function like a piano key. By the time the staircase was completed, it had a a full range of notes, low to high. With in a short time span, the majority of people switched from the escalator to the stair case. This phenomenon has been coined as the "fun theory". The "fun" can be the catalyst in initiating change in a positive way that is easy for people to not only relate to but engage. Peter had mentioned that in the experiment with the "piano staircase", people were actively engaging the right side of their brain, the creative side. The "fun" side. It was no surprise to him that people could make the change so easily. Now the question remains, "how can we apply this fun model to our plastic problem?" An idea I am working on currently involves this "fun theory" and its integration into our local schools. For more information on fun theory please visit www.thefuntheory.com
TRAWLING FOR PLASTICS
The "Great North Pacific Patch" is the eye opener that most people have heard of when talking of the "trash island". Its has been described as an area where a vortex of currents has collected debris, trash, slugde, and pelagic plastics. Where we were sailing, was about 1,000 miles south of that location. The expedition will eventually end at the patch in a few months. The significance of where we were was to find out what kind and what amounts of pollutants were present in these waters. Remember that where we are in, is a remote part of the world where the gyres influence is minimal and human population is low. We trawled for roughly 7-8 hours each day. The "Manta Trawl" resembled a hydrofoil with a fine net mesh that collected the samples on the surface. Compared to the samples collected in the Atlantic, our findings were minimal. When passing through a Grye, the samples collected were larger pieces or debris including suspended particles. While on our trip we did not see large amounts of any kind of debris. When the Manta trawl was pulled up, we did find evidence of nurdles (small plastic pellets) as well as other forms of plastic. One thing I was a bit surprised to see was the lack of sea life passing through this part of the Pacific. We had one bite on our fishing line over the 5 days out at sea. I was expecting a few more nibbles. The importance of these larger fish, is that once caught, the crew can extract its liver and have it tested for pollutants and levels of toxins. One of the issues surrounding the "nurdles" and small plastic particles are that they are hard to clean up, hard to see, and contribute to bio-magnification of toxins in the food chain. Because plastics are petroleum based, they attract other chemicals floating in the water. A fish can consume these nurdles mistaking them for food, as they move up the food chain, toxins can concentrate to dangerous levels affecting larger mammals. There is a current topic being studied in Rarotonga that I will revisit in part 3 of 3 relating to this on an agricultural level. Though what we found wasn't jaw dropping excitement, the data collected was use full and will be sent to Redondo Beach for further testing. Its is important to note that where we were traveling was very remote with very small human populations. The fact that we were still finding small nurdles way out here, was a bit shocking to me. There must be some way to minimize the source of these pollutants. According to one source, roughly 80% of the trash produced is land based, with the remaining percentage coming from sea vessels. By collecting nurdles from different areas of the worlds oceans, it may be possible to identify the origins of that pollutant. Continued research is necessary at this point on a global scale, but for now, the are efforts being made by smaller enterprises like the 5 Gyres and Pangea Expedition will have to suffice.
To learn more about the plastic problem and what we can do to help visit 5gyres.org