Marine debris has become one of the most widespread pollution problems in the world’s oceans
and waterways today. The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) serves as a centralized marine debris resource within NOAA, coordinating and supporting activities within NOAA and with other federal agencies. The MDP uses partnerships to support projects carried out by state and local agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry.
Marine debris monitoring programs are necessary to compare debris sources, amounts, locations, movement, and impacts across the US and internationally. Monitoring data can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of policies to mitigate debris and provide insight into priority targets for prevention. Thus, the NOAA MDP has developed standardized marine debris shoreline survey protocols to facilitate regional and site-specific comparisons. This document provides a standard data sheet and two different methods for shoreline monitoring and assessment.
