BERLIN — The Maryland Coastal Bays Program in partnership with Ørsted is hosting its annual Marine Debris Plunder clean up event Sunday Oct. 22 to encourage the community to pick up debris throughout the coastal bays.
Boaters and land lubbers alike are encouraged to join the plunder to pick up debris that has been carelessly discarded in the bays, beaches, and streets, and bring their “loot” to 12905 Harbor Road, in the West Ocean City Harbor from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The debris will be weighed at the site. Captain Jack Sparrow along with his pirate crew will be on hand to assist and will properly dispose of the debris.
This is the eventual location of an Ørsted Operations and Maintenance facility that will serve Skipjack Wind, a 966-megawatt offshore wind project off the coast of Maryland.
Those that bring their debris by boat can pull right up to the dock and the crew will unload and trade your trash for commemorative T-shirts and food grilled by volunteers from the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, Inc. while they last. Land pirates can pull up to the building to drop off their collection to volunteers, who will be providing T-shirts and food as well.
The intent of this event is to engage the community in picking up debris in waterways and streets and bringing it to one location where it will be weighed and disposed of properly. All participants will be asked to fill out data sheets on the debris. This data will be used for an outreach campaign next year to remind our visitors the importance of keeping our waterways clean.
Thanks to a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the support of Ørsted, Worcester County, Ron Jon Surf Shop and Sandpiper Energy, supplies will be provided for those who preregister. Supply packets can be picked up at Pure Lure in the West Ocean City Harbor at a pre-arranged date.
Boaters pursuing debris in the water will receive specific instructions as to what marine debris consists of, to not confuse with live traps, as crabbing season is in effect. It is illegal to tamper with any live traps. The low tide for this day is at 7:53 a.m.
Boaters will be encouraged to pursue abandoned and derelict crab pots that have been clearly abandoned and are sitting in shallow water and marshes. Every year crabbers lose their pots to careless boaters who do not pay attention and run over crab pot floats, which identify pot locations. Ghost pots continually re-bait as crabs crawl inside, eventually die, and new crabs arrive to eat those. These ghost pots also trap and kill nearly anything that fits, including terrapin, otter, and fish.
Please pre-register for this event either online at the Maryland Coastal Bays Program website, www.mdcoastalbays.org, or call Sandi at 410-213-2297, ext. 106 and register by phone. Registration is now open.