This year’s meeting was hosted virtually by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) and featured a Fostering Behavior Change training led by the NOAA Office of Coastal Management. More than 70 people attended the meeting, representing a diverse set of local, state, and federal governments, nonprofits, academic institutions, and industry across the Gulf of Mexico. 

The goal of this initiative is to assess, prevent, remove, and eliminate marine debris and litter in the Gulf of Mexico and its watersheds to enhance wildlife, fisheries, habitats, water resources, humans and the Gulf economy. Three focus areas — prevention, research, and removal of debris — were also identified, and actions and metrics to measure the success of the plan were drafted. This action plan, building on past actions plans, serves to facilitate and track marine debris activities across the Gulf of Mexico, as well as provide a focused direction to tackle marine debris issues on local, state, and regional scales. 

For further information,  contact Caitlin.Wessel@noaa.gov.