61 



7 



Setting standards for floatables is also needed. In addition to 

 public health and aesthetic concerns, over a million marine 

 animals are killed yearly by marine debris and vessel damage 

 attributed to marine debris has been costly to repair and poses a 

 real threat to mariner safety. In 1985, NOAA established the 

 Marine Entanglement Research Program (MERP) in response to public 

 concern over the impacts of marine debris on wildlife. One of 

 the primary goals of this program has been to develop a better 

 understanding of the origin, amount, distribution, fate and 

 effects of plastic and other synthetic debris in the marine 

 environment. With that understanding, MERP has been able to 

 develop and implement efforts in education and mitigation. 



Through these and other such efforts, 1991 beach clean-up data 

 show that most types of ocean-based marine debris (i.e., 

 recreational fishing and boating waste, commercial fishing waste, 

 operational wastes and galley wastes) are declining. By 

 contrast, land-based wastes, including sewage associated wastes, 

 although accounting for a very small portion of total wastes, are 

 increasing. Therefore, NOAA supports the development of 

 standards for monitoring floatables in coastal recreational 

 waters as part of a comprehensive national coastal monitoring 

 program. 



H.R. 31 calls for the participation of state coastal zone 

 management programs to provide technical assistance to local 



