Stiv Wilson to set sail for Atlantic Gyre
12/8
The Unexplored North Atlantic Gyre
Words by: Rob Nixon
Much has been made of the Northern Pacific Garbage Patch, a Texas-sized open ocean gyre that is full of plastic. This very tragic geographical feature has garnered quite a bit of attention since its discovery in 1997. There have been many expeditions to the gyre itself and to islands such as Midway Atol, which bear witness to the consequences of the aquatic dump . There have been three major expeditions just this year alone:
–Project Kaisei set sail on August 4 to try and determine if we can actually collect and reclaim the debris within the gyre.
–In October, activist photographer Chris Jordan released his disturbing photo essay, ‘Midway; Message from the Gyre’ documenting the effects of the gyre on the local albatross population.
–By the way, the effect is no bueno! Finally, the Plastiki, David de Rothschild’s 60’ catamaran made of 100% post consumer single use plastic bottles, will set sail soon to raise further awareness of this unfortunate Pacific region.
Surfrider Portland's Stiv Wilson
With so much attention going to the North Pacific, it is almost impossible for one to realize that there are four more gyres out there and they are very likely collecting trash just like their big brother. An expedition by Dr. Mark Eriksen from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation is now scheduled to gather data on the understudied Northern Atlantic Gyre and Surfrider Foundation Portland (OR) Chapter Chairman, Stiv Wilson has been invited to join the expedition. During the voyage Stiv will be writing articles on the findings and taking pictures and videos that will be used to produce Surfrider Foundation deliverables for educators, activists and anyone else interested in critically researching the region. He will also aid in funding plastic in sediment analysis, fish tissue sampling for toxins from plastics and a density study.
A voyage like this is not cheap and Stiv is required to come up with his part, so he needs your help! Of the $6,000 he needs to provide, Surfrider Foundation has generously covered $2,500. Stiv needs to raise the rest of the funds by Christmas. If you would like to help him out, go to his Kickstarter project page and donate. Stiv is offering a variety of incentives for doing so, such as unrestricted access to the pictures and video and credits in the media produced by the project.
