Please join us for New Bedford Science Café, Tues., 6/4, 6–8 p.m., The Last Round Bar & Grille, 908 Purchase St., New Bedford. Open to everyone. Free, save for the beer!
Our guest Laura Ludwig, ocean cleaner and “debris broker,” will discuss “Ghost Gear in Local Waters: New Approaches and Strengthened Resolve to Confront Deepsea Pollution.” For over two decades, Laura, the director of the Marine Debris & Plastic Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, has been a key player in organizing commercial fishermen, regulators, artists & volunteers to address this issue.
“Ghost gear” refers to fishing gear, such as nets, rope, lines, buoys and traps, that is lost, abandoned or discarded at sea. Removing it from the ocean floor is costly and challenging. Since much of it is made of plastic, its breakdown further increases ocean pollution and hazards for marine creatures.
Laura will describe strategies to track and report ghost fishing gear, as well as new systems being developed to prevent it in the first place. She’ll relate innovative partnerships with aquaculturists, fishermen, and artists who repurpose hauled-up materials, and share her busy schedule of regional clean-ups we can all get involved with.
Free parking in rear of building.
Find us at https://newbedfordsciencecafe.weebly.com/ or on Facebook.
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