On Monday, Oct. 19, Jen Kingfisher from the Port Townsend Marine Science Center met with Beach Watchers at San Juan Island's Jackson Beach. In conjunction with the Department of Ecology, the PT Marine Science Center is sampling beach debris in all seven Washington counties that border the U.S. portion of the Salish Sea for "micro-plastics." -- the small fragments that often are ingested by marine animals. Jen's paraphernalia included buckets, sieves, and garden trowels, which she used to demonstrate the sampling protocol. Three 1-meter square sections of the beach are chosen at 30 foot intervals from which sand and other beach debris are gathered. These bucketfuls of material are then shaken through different-sized sieves to collect the human-made debris that remains, after the organic material is removed. The debris is then analyzed and counted by category. The sampling is being done twice a year - with samples from all beaches collected the same week in October, and again in March. Samples and data sheets are forwarded to Jen for further analysis and recording.
After the group practiced the techniques by collecting samples from three quadrates on Jackson Beach on Monday, Jen left the sampling gear behind to use on other island beaches. Kim Secunda and Susan Muckle collected samples from Orcas and Lopez, and the San Juan Beach Watchers met in the rain at South Beach on Wednesday.
The data collected will provide a baseline for determining the quantity and types of plastics that are showing up on Salish Sea beaches, as a first step towards finding local solutions to this world-wide problem.
Everyone is encouraged to help with the 2nd sampling session in March; more information will be posted when the date gets closer.
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