The Channel Islands are located within 60 miles of major population centers in Southern California, but are isolated protected areas that serve as habitat for endangered birds, four species of pinnipeds (California sea lions, northern fur seals, harbor seals, and northern elephant seals), and endemic island foxes that don’t live anywhere else in the world. Marine debris is a common site on island shorelines, including lost fishing gear, consumer debris, and microplastics.

In order to reduce impacts to local wildlife and better understand the amount and types of marine debris on shorelines of the Channel Islands, this three-year project monitored and removed debris from seven remote beaches. CSUCI recruited student volunteers to participate in the fieldwork, including veterans and members of the community at large. This effort expanded upon a baseline dataset on debris accumulation in the Channel Islands that was initiated under a 2016 NOAA Marine Debris Program removal grant.