To study the scale of the marine debris accumulation in the area, the 5 Gyres Project conducted a research expedition to the North Atlantic Garbage Patch in January and February 2010, collecting 35 samples over 3,000 miles between St. Thomas, Bermuda and the Azores. In addition, the Sea Education Society (SEA) has been doing extensive research on the Atlantic Garbage Patch. Nearly 7,000 students from the SEA semester program have been dragging 6,100 fine meshed nets through the Atlantic over 22 years. The findings from these two bodies of research were conclusive: the gyre in the North Atlantic Ocean contains plastic marine pollution in a pattern and amount similar to what has been found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Action By Sea is calling on anybody who will be in a vessel in the area of the North Atlantic Garbage Patch to take part in some basic research that we can add to our database. The research will literally consist of dipping a simple net overboard and recording any rubbish that you collect.

If you are in a position to help us with this valuable research then please contact us