On Friday, April 26th, Clean Ocean Access (COA) in partnership with Community Boating Center will hold a press event announcing the launch of the Port of New Bedford Marina Trash Skimmer located in the Port of New Bedford. The installation in New Bedford marks the expansion of the innovative marina trash skimmer technology in the top fishing port in the country, followed by Alaska, with the goal to eliminate marine debris and improve coastal water quality in southeast New England.
The Port of New Bedford Marina Trash Skimmer is part of the Southeast New England Marina Trash Skimmer program, a multi-year initiative funded by 11th Hour Racing that seeks to improve the health of southern New England’s harbors and marinas frequented by thousands of residents and visited by tens of thousands of tourists annually Floating marine debris not only presents a nuisance to recreational and commercial vessels, it also impairs water quality and degrades marine habitat and ecosystems that are critical to New Bedford’s coastal community. Education and outreach efforts to engage the broader New Bedford community through the marina trash skimmer program are made possible by funding from the Amgen Foundation and the Island Foundation.
The Southeast New England Marina Trash Skimmer program builds on COA’s proven success with two trash skimmer installations in Newport Harbor in partnership with the City of Newport (2016), one in Portsmouth in partnership with New England Boatworks, and one at Fort Adams State Park in partnership with Sail Newport (2017). Since launching in 2016, the four COA-operated marina trash skimmers on Aquidneck Island have removed over 20,000 pounds of marine debris and 27,000 individual items of litter from local waterways over the course of 166 site visits. This spring 2019, COA will deploy three units in southeast New England, including the installation in New Bedford in partnership with the New Bedford Port Authority and Community Boating Center. The press event on April 26th at 10:00AM will be followed by marina trash skimmer tours that are open to the public.
WHAT: Port of New Bedford Marina Trash Skimmer Press Event
WHO: 11th Hour Racing, Clean Ocean Access, Community Boating Center, and New Bedford Port Authority
WHEN: Friday, April 26th, 2019 10:00AM
WHERE: State Pier 3, 52 Fisherman’s Wharf New Bedford, MA 02740