Have you ever heard of Sausalito based “Ocean Voyages Institute”
“Because I’m tired of any kind of trash in our oceans, I want to help raise awareness about this great Sausalito non-profit organization that finds and retrieves ghost nets” – Cyril Derreumaux
Ocean Voyages Institute (OVI) is a non-profit founded in 1979 by a group of international sailors, educators, and conservationists with a mission of teaching maritime arts and sciences and preserving the world’s oceans.
In 2009, Project Kaisei was launched to focus on major ocean clean-up and to raise awareness regarding the global problem of marine debris/ocean trash. Project Kaisei was established to focus on major ocean clean-up and to raise awareness regarding the global problem of marine debris/ocean trash.
A prime target for OV Institute’s 2019 voyage was the fishing gear called “ghost nets.”
Often weighing tons, these massive nets of nylon or polypropylene drift for decades, amassing plastic debris, ensnaring wildlife, and even entangling ships. An estimated 600,000 tons of this abandoned gear ends up in the oceans every year. According to the United Nations, some 380,000 marine mammals are killed every year by either ingesting or being caught in it.
Because we’re tired of trash when we play in our oceans!
Ocean Voyages Institute Removes 40 Tons of Plastic, including 5-Ton Ghost Net – June 2019
Sausalito, CA – Ocean Voyages Institute announced that it has successfully removed more than 40 tons of fishing nets and consumer plastics from the area known as the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, or more commonly known as the Pacific Gyre.
The sailing cargo ship, S/V KWAI, arrived in Honolulu today, having completed a 25-day clean up mission. In the Pacific, between California and Hawaii, four ocean currents converge to create a vortex that collects huge amounts of plastics. One sees detergent bottles, beer and soft drink crates, bleach and cleaning bottles, plastic furniture, packaging straps, buckets, children’s toys, and myriad types of plastic floating mid-ocean. This debris field covers vast expanses of ocean.