Chapter VI — Impacts of Marine Debris 



information that had been developed on the subject 

 within the United States. The report provided a very 

 useful review of information on the subjects raised in 

 the Commission's paper recommending revision of the 

 guidelines, as well as other relevant matters. 



The final report was provided to the Coast Guard 

 by the Marine Entanglement Research Program for 

 submission to the Marine Environment Protection 

 Committee at its 31st Session in July 1991. The 

 Netherlands also submitted a paper on port reception 

 facilities to the Committee for its July session. It 

 proposed developing a comprehensive manual to 

 provide advice on how best to meet port reception 

 facility requirements for all types of ship-generated 

 pollutants regulated under the Convention (i.e., oily 

 wastes, noxious liquid substances, and garbage). The 

 Committee agreed to the proposal and to an offer by 

 The Netherlands to consolidate the guidance on the 

 matter following the meeting. It therefore took no 

 action at the 31st Session to review advice on port 

 reception facUities for garbage. 



The 32nd Session of the Committee is scheduled 

 for March 1992. At the end of 1991, it was the 

 Commission's understanding that The Netherlands was 

 preparing a paper regarding development of the 

 comprehensive manual and that a working group of 

 the Committee would be convened at the 32nd Session 

 to address The Netherlands' proposed manual. At 

 that time, the U.S. report on port reception facilities 

 for garbage submitted for the July 1991 Session will 

 be considered within the context of developing a 

 comprehensive manual. 



Special Area Designations 



Regulation five of Annex V provides for the 

 establishment of "Special Areas" where more stringent 

 garbage discharge limits shall apply. Its purpose is to 

 address particular debris discharge problems in areas 

 where it may be concentrated because of factors such 

 as surrounding land masses, current patterns, etc. 

 Discharge standards for Special Areas are indicated in 

 Table 12. Five Special Areas (the Mediterranean, 

 Baltic, Black and Red Seas, and the Gulf of 

 Oman/Persian Gulf) are listed in the regulation; other 

 areas may be added by amending Annex V. 



For Special Area standards to take effect, however. 

 Annex V requires that nations bordering the area first 

 affirm to the International Maritime Organization that 

 adequate port reception facilities have been developed 

 and are available at ports along its shores. To date, 

 nations bordering the original five Special Areas have 

 not so advised the Organization. TTius, even though 

 listed in the original Aimex, the areas are not yet in 

 effect. This situation underscores the need for further 

 work on the above-mentioned port reception facility 

 guidelines. 



Since Annex V entered into force, however, the 

 North Sea has been added to the list of Special Areas 

 and has entered into effect. A proposed amendment 

 to add that water body was developed by nations 

 surrounding the North Sea and submitted to the 

 Marine Environment Protection Committee. The 

 amendment was adopted at the 28th Session and 

 subsequently circulate to member governments under 

 a tacit amendment process. This procedure allows 

 measures to be accepted if a prerequisite number of 

 objections are not filed within a given period. 



The amendment cleared this process in 1990 and, 

 following an additional six-month period to allow 

 signatory nations time to bring their domestic regula- 

 tions into conformance with the new provision, the 

 listing entered into force on 18 February 1991. The 

 addition of the North Sea brings the number of 

 Special Areas listed under Annex V to six. The 

 nations bordering the North Sea also have advised the 

 Organization that adequate port reception facilities 

 exist in ports bordering the area. Thus, the North Sea 

 is the first Special Area under Annex V to actually 

 become effective. 



Efforts to list the Gulf of Mexico as a Special Area 

 also are being pursued by the United States. Interest 

 in doing so is prompted, in part, by the serious debris 

 problems evident along certain Texas beaches and 

 concern about the effects of debris on resident sea 

 turtles. As a related matter, the Marine Mammal 

 Commission contracted for a review of information on 

 marine debris in several areas, including the Gulf of 

 Mexico and Caribbean Sea (see Appendix B, Hene- 

 man and the Center for Environmental Education 

 1988). Among other things, the study report recom- 

 mended that the Caribbean Sea, as well as the Gulf of 



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