ft deck 



A Sea Grant Home Page 



North Carolina Sea Grant has a 

 home page on the Internet's World 

 Wide Web. You can visit our page by 

 typing the following URL: http:// 

 www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/CIL/sea_grant/ 

 index.html. We have posted informa- 

 tion about our program, staff, publica- 

 tions and Coastwatch. 



You can use the home page to 

 send us electronic mail, order publica- 

 tions, review the table of contents of 

 the last six issues of Coastwatch and 

 connect to other home pages in the Sea 

 Grant network. 



That's just the beginning. In 

 coming months, we'll add an upcom- 

 ing events section, a science section 

 describing ongoing research and a 

 news section for media. Eventually, we 

 may also post some of our newsletters 

 and other free publications. 



Please visit our home page and 

 comment to us about what you like and 

 don't like. Tell us what you want to see 

 added. And remember, the page will be 

 evolving, so visit often. 



Marine Debris Worldwide 

 Goes Electronic 



If you have a computer and access 

 to the Internet, then you can read Sea 

 Grant's latest newsletter — Marine 

 Debris Worldwide — from your 

 computer screen. The newsletter was 

 begun this year to facilitate and 

 formalize international communication 

 about marine debris. It is funded by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service 

 through a grant to North Carolina Sea 

 Grant. 



To access the Marine Debris 

 Worldwide home page, type the 

 following URL: http://www2.ncsu.edu/ 

 unity/lockers/project/marinedebris/ 

 index.html. After cruising through 

 cyberspace to this page, you'll find 

 the latest issue of the international 

 newsletter. 



Marine Debris Worldwide contains 

 international information about marine 

 debris impacts, sources, surveys, 

 research, conferences, publications 

 and solutions. The latest issue includes 

 articles about marine debris issues in 

 the United States, the Caribbean, New 

 Zealand and Africa. One article 

 recounts the amount of ocean debris 

 seen by sailors participating in the 

 BOC Challenge (an around-the-vvorld 

 sailboat race). Another describes a 

 complex regional marine debris project 

 launched by five countries in West 

 Africa's Gulf of Guinea. 



To read these articles and more, 

 visit the Marine Debris Worldwide 

 home page. The site will be updated 

 quarterly when new issues are released. 

 It also includes an introduction to 

 marine debris issues. 



If you don't have a computer but 

 would like to receive the newsletter, 

 write North Carolina Sea Grant. Ask for 

 Marine Debris Worldwide. It's free. 



We're All Cleaned Up 



For the ninth consecutive year, 

 volunteers flocked to North Carolina 

 waterways to participate in the First 

 Citizens Bank Big Sweep. In all, 12,489 

 volunteers devoted more than 49,000 

 hours to ridding our state's beaches, 

 lakes, rivers and streams of unsightly, 

 potentially deadly litter left by others. 



Volunteers used every method 

 imaginable to collect debris. They 

 walked shorelines, waded through 

 creeks, canoed down rivers and dived 

 beneath ocean piers. When the bags of 

 trash collected by this conscientious 

 crew were tallied, volunteers had swept 

 more than 168.5 tons of debris from 

 1,322 miles of state shoreline. 



It was a feat to be proud of — one 

 that left North Carolina's waterways 

 cleaner and saved the state more than 

 $200,000 in cleanup costs. 



"We were thrilled at the turnout," 

 says Kathy Hart, chair of the board of 



directors of N.C. Big Sweep and Sea 

 Grant's communications director. 

 "Trash totals were lower for the third 

 consecutive year. We're making a 

 difference and that makes everyone 

 involved in Big Sweep very happy." 



Participation was heaviest in Dare, 

 New Hanover, Carteret, Guilford, 

 Brunswick, Buncombe, Wake, 

 Davidson and Ashe counties. Trash 

 totals were greatest in New Hanover, 

 Wake, Davidson and Dare counties. 



Among the mundane and abundant 

 litter — cigarette butts, glass bottles, 

 plastic bags, plastic bottles and fishing 

 line — was the unusual: four refrigera- 

 tors, one washing machine and five 

 television sets in Duplin County; a 

 barbecue grill in Beaufort County; a 

 grave marker in Cumberland County; a 

 wheelchair in Guilford County; a 

 bathtub in Pender County; and a 

 cellular phone in New Hanover County. 

 Volunteers found a little of everything, 

 including the kitchen sink in Johnston 

 County. 



Plans are already under way for 

 next year's cleanup — Big Sweep's 

 10th anniversary. It's scheduled for 

 Sept. 21. To volunteer now, call 

 1-800-27-SWEEP. 



N.C. Big Sweep is a public-private 

 partnership led by a board of directors 

 representing: First Citizens Bank; 

 Carolina Power and Light; Duke Power 

 Co.; Glass Packaging Institute; Keep 

 America Beautiful of North Carolina; 

 Keep America Beautiful of New 

 Hanover County; Keep Wayne County 

 Beautiful; N.C. Department of Environ- 

 ment, Health and Natural Resources; 

 N.C. Division of Coastal Management; 

 N.C. Sea Grant; Rowan County Parks 

 and Recreation; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco 

 Co.; Southeastern N.C. Waterman's 

 Association; University of North 

 Carolina at Charlotte: U.S. Power 

 Squadrons; WGHPiedmont 8 TV; 

 and Wilson County Office of Waste 

 Reduction and Recycling. □ 



COASTWATCH 25 



