The Sixth Gyre: Art, Oceans, and Plastic Pollution - Marine Debris Art Exhibit in Hawaii - 20-25 March 2011

© 2010 Pam Longobardi

The past few months have been busy planning a Marine Debris Art Exhibit for the 5th International Marine Debris Conference being held in Honolulu, Hawaii this March. In August of 2010 my collaborator Pam Longobardi a professor of Art at Georgia State University, herself a talented artist, and I submitted a proposal to organize an Exhibit showcasing the marine debris art created by a group of talented professional artists.  The conference organizers NOAA and UNEP have supported our efforts and over the last 6 months we have been putting together a wonderful collaboration of talented and internationally recognized artists. The art selected for this exhibit was produced by 7 professional artists who have devoted much of their study to both understanding and interpreting the social causes and ecological challenges of marine pollution. The collaborating artists are internationally recognized for their ability to utilize art to visually interpret the human impacts of consumption and how that impact extends to marine ecosystems. The pieces of art in this exhibit reflect that aptitude. It is hoped that this exhibit will inspire thought about the role art can play interpreting conservation issues to the public, and how art may also inspire creative solutions from viewers.

Guitar Series inlay of flip-flops © 2010 Andrew McNaughton

Exhibit Statement:

Seven professional artists unite to illustrate the environmental challenges marine ecosystems face due to discarded plastic. In its entirety their work guides the audience to an inescapable vantage point. One from which it is no longer credible to maintain a culpable ignorance of the impacts plastic pollution is having on our oceans as well as the wildlife and human populations dependent on them. In combining these works the viewer’s journey mirrors the path of awareness and responsibility each artist experienced through intimate exposure to this issue.

Taken together, this body of work is transformative, enabling viewers to interpret their own role in the creation of marine pollution. The exhibit integrates in situ observations with artistic innovation, and bridges the boundary in-between. The juxtaposition of powerful images of environmental tragedy alongside artistically styled works that incorporate discarded plastics prompts the viewer to identify creative measures to reduce plastic from ending up in our oceans, rather than being overwhelmed by the challenge. The viewer ultimately shifts from blaming others to taking personal responsibility, engaged with the marine environment and therefore invested in finding solutions to reducing marine pollution sources.

Octoplas - © 2009 Michelle Lougee

The artists participating in this exhibit are:

Andrew Hughes - UK
Pam Longobardi - USA 

Dianna Cohen - USA

Susan Middleton - USA

David Liittschwager - USA

Andrew McNaughton - Kenya

Michelle Lougee - USA

Over the next few weeks I will write more about these artists (and others that we could not include) and their art. Looking at both how art helps us all interpret our connection to the natural world, in this case the marine environment, and the personal journey of how these artists discovered marine debris. I have started a new blog (click on title below) to focus specifically on these topics called:

The Fine Art of Marine Debris 

Marine debris on Laysan Island, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument - photo by David Liittschwager © 2004

This project has been supported by:

NOAA Marine Debris Division

United Nations Environmental Program

Ocean Conservancy 

Oceanic Society
Georgia State University

Surfrider Foundation - Atlanta  Chapter

Scenic Treasures Safaris - Kenya 

Earth-Art by Amanda
Flo Water LLC

UniqEco Designs 

In The Bag

First Day on Midway Atoll - Oceanic Society Ecotourist Visitors

Well all 15 of us arrived on Midway Atoll at about 8:45 PM on the 13th of April. After a 4.5 hour charter flight from Honolulu we arrive at night. During the "albatross nesting season" planes are only allowed to land at night, when albatross are less likely to be flying and bird strikes are less probable. On arrival we are met by two Refuge "limo" golf carts and are whisked away to what will be our home for the next 8 days amid the whines of dancing albatross and the erratic flight paths of the thousands of swooping Bonin Petrels. Once settled in the lobby of Charlie Barracks we are given a brief orientation and allowed to head off to our rooms. Many people quickly return to the lobby eager to get outside and listen to the birds and take a long look at the amazing display of starts that being so far away from any light source allows.

In the morning we head off to breakfast at the "Clipper House" Midway's central hub and mess hall, named to honor the history of the Pam Am Clippers that used to stop here in the 1930's on their way to Asia. It was a wonderful morning and for many their first true glimpse (in the daylight) of what Midway has to offer.

New arrivals to Midway must take part in a FWS orientation as their first activity on Midway. Since we are all sharing the island with many critically endangered and threatened species this orientation is vital to the visitors ability to understand the responsibilities, and role they play while on Midway in the safe stewardship of these islands. Additionally the orientation serves to make everyone aware of the significance these atolls have played in Hawaiian cultural history as well as more recent US history. During the orientation, which is presented by FWS visitor coordinator, Tracy Ammerman, all are given a map of Sand Island. This map helps everyone to navigate on their own around the island, understanding which areas are open and have maintained trails, and what areas are closed due to conservation or safety concerns. The orientation and the lectures that will be given throughout the week help everyone to understand and appreciate why certain places on the island are left as wildlife only areas, and where viewing and access points for visitors have been established. After orientation the next order of business is for everyone to choose their own traditional Midway "horse" that will be used to get around the island over the next week. These "horses" or bikes that we have to choose from were all supplied through donations made to the Friends of Midway Atoll an organization formed to specifically support Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

Now that all the visitors have the needed knowledge to explore the island on their own and have a "horse" to navigate the paths full of albatross and chicks they are ready to enjoy the next 7 days on Midway. We are lucky to start off this week with amazing weather. One of the first places everyone wanted to go was the beach. We headed off to the cargo pier to see what we would find. On arrival we saw a Hawaiian monk seal on a nearby beach, about 16 green sea turtles sunning on an adjacent beach known oddly enough as "Turtle Beach" and then heard 7 Bristle-thighed Curlews as they flew overhead. As we looked down one side of the beach we noticed some washed up nets and marine debris that could pose a hazard to the wildlife we were seeing. The group decided to collect the various pieces of netting and line that were there. In about 10 minutes we had cleaned the beach of about 50-lbs of marine debris and taken our first action to participate in one of the missions of the Refuge, to provide a safe habitat for the wildlife that live there.














all images are © Wayne Sentman 2009

Plastic Debris and Albatross on Midway Atoll

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (MANWR) is encompassed in the newly designated, and second largest marine protected area in the world, The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM) (Figure 1). Midway Atoll lies 1200 miles northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii and is home to the worlds largest breeding colonies of two of the 3 North Pacific albatross species, the Laysan Albatross (LAAL), listed globally as vulnerable (IUCN 2008), and the Black-footed Albatross (BFAL), listed globally as endangered (IUCN 2008). The 2009 annual nest counts (every albatross nest on Midway’s 3 islands are counted) were just completed (2 January) and the preliminary data show 398,182 nesting pairs of LAAL and 23,955 nesting pairs of BFAL (USFWS, unpubl. data).

Figure 1 – Map Showing the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument

Map reproduced with permission of NOAA monument office

Disturbingly these breeding grounds and the PMNM also are adjacent to two of the largest concentrations of floating marine debris in the world’s oceans. Plastic debris makes up the 90% of the floating marine debris found in the ocean (Weiss, 2006). One of those concentrations, the "Eastern Garbage Patch” is approximately twice the size of Texas (Silverman, 2007). Both Albatross species nesting on MANWR and throughout the rest of the atolls in the PMNM spend much of their time feeding in areas adjacent to or directly in this “Garbage Patch” (Fernandez et al. 2001 and Auman et al. 1997). It is primarily while feeding that albatross ingest a variety of plastic items (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Diversity of Swallowed Plastic Items Recovered From Albatross Chicks

© 2009 Heidi Auman reproduced with permission

In doing so, they risk repeated exposure to an array of potentially toxic compounds (Jones et al. 1996, Ludwig et al. 1997, Mato et al. 2001, and Finkelstein et al. 2006). Further by regurgitating meals to their young, frequently loaded with this plastic, the true risks of this exposure may happen miles away from the point of contact, and some of these potential toxins may end up effecting the land-based albatross chicks more severely than the adults directly feeding in these areas.

Albatross chick carcass from Midway showing plastic present in gut at death.

© 2009 Wayne Sentman

Plastic debris has been identified as a growing problem in the Pacific Ocean (A.M.R.F., 2007). The currents or gyres that cause the pacific garbage patches to accumulate also are responsible for focusing some of that impact directly on LAAL and BFAL. This as a result of overlap between where these gyres concentrate marine debris and the areas of the north pacific in which the albatross are spending their time feeding (Naughton et al, 2007). Additionally while many species of seabirds are known to ingest plastic (Laist, 1997), both the LAAL and BFAL albatross chicks have been shown to regularly have relatively high, and increasing total amounts of plastic in their guts (Kenyon and Kridler, 1969, Auman et al. 1997, Naughton et al. 2007). This is also compounded (for chicks) by not being able to expel, through regurgitation, any items in their gut until about 3 to 4 months of age. Therefore plastic brought to the chicks through the parents many feedings tends to sit and accumulate in the chicks’ digestive tract for long periods of time.

© 2009 Wayne Sentman

This accumulated plastic has been shown to have detrimental effects to the success and survival of the albatross chicks (Sileo et al. 1990 and Fry et al. 1987). Additionally past research has shown high levels of organochlorine contaminants in albatross adults and chicks (Auman et al. 1997 and Finkelstein et al. 2007) and this likely has a relationship to ingested plastics.