The Economic Value of Controlling Marine Debris

Marine debris pollution became a front-page news story in the late 1980s.1 With this media attention, there has been increasing regulatory activity and some efforts to monitor the problem. In late 1987, Annex V of the international protocol for the prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL 73/78) was ratified by the United States. Data in a National Park Service report indicate (based on 3 years of sampling at National Seashores around the United States) that amounts of debris found at five of the eight sites studies was remaining approximately constant or increasing (Cole et al. 1992).2 Thus, debris in coastal areas remains a problem.