Oregon Lecture Tackles Beach Debris, Tsunami Influx, Pacific Garbage Patch

Published 01/26/2013

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – The World of Haystack Rock Library Lecture Series in Cannon Beach features another installment on February 7 with "Rising Tide: Marine Debris in Oregon."

This one is given by Charlie Plybon, Oregon Field Manager for Surfrider Foundation, who has been a strong advocate for awareness on marine debris issues ranging from the 2011 Japanese tsunami, to the the Great Pacific Garbage patch.

“Concerns about the effects of these objects in our oceans and on our beaches has becoming a rising tide,” Plybon said.

Charlie Plybon

In the lecture, learn more about the effects of marine debris on wildlife in the planet's oceans, a short history of ocean dumping laws and how sources of marine debris have changed dramatically over the years. This growing problem of both tsunami-generated and more general marine debris is being addressed by various stakeholders from researchers to volunteer beach enthusiasts and fishermen.

The public can learn how various groups, communities, as well as state and federal agencies are tracking and responding to marine debris and how you can get involved.

Plybon graduated from Eckerd College with a B.S. in Marine Biology and attended graduate school at the University of South Florida. Soon after, he began working at the Florida Marine Research Institute researching aquatic health and life history for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

A life-long ocean-user and waterman growing up in North Carolina, Charlie moved to Oregon eleven years ago, working at the Oregon Coast Aquarium from 2001-2006 as the Education manager, running programs and training volunteers for interpreting wimple to complex ocean issues for various audiences. He began volunteering with the Surfrider Foundation in 2003.

By 2006, the small Blue Water Task Force program he helped initiate had blossomed into the Newport, Oregon Chapter. In February 2007, Charlie began working full time for Surfrider Foundation as the Oregon Field Manager, supporting the management of programs, activities and campaigns for all Surfrider chapters in the state of Oregon.

Charlie lives in Newport and because of his work is able to travel monthly up and down the coast, spending lots of time on Oregon beaches, in and around the ocean. Throughout 2012, Charlie helped fund the Oregon Marine Debris Team, bringing together non-profits, academia and agencies to help better address the rising needs for monitoring and responding to marine debris on Oregon beaches.

Thursday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m. "Rising Tide: Marine Debris in Oregon." Cannon Beach Library, 131 N. Hemlock St. Cannon Beach, Oregon. The lecture is free.

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