In a semiannual event that has become a tradition at Edmonds Marina, “Ocean Annie” Crowley and her team of mostly young volunteer scuba divers dived beneath Edmonds Marina’s boat anchorages on Sunday morning to see what I made a dent in the rubble that had accumulated over the years. Anything that has been dropped, dropped or thrown into the water from a boat or dock.
Crowley is an internationally renowned oceanographer, underwater photographer, educator, youth organizer, and a tireless advocate for the environmental health of the ocean. She and her crew of volunteers see this as more than just a cleanup, but part of a larger common mission to raise awareness of marine environmental issues.
And that message resonates, especially among young people. Crawley continues to attract new members through the Our Ocean and You program to not only share the joy of being immersed in the aquatic environment, but to gain a passion for the greater mission of caring, managing and conserving the oceans. . She doesn’t have to be a diver to be part of her team. Anyone with a passion for protecting and nurturing the marine environment is welcome to join.
“We always believe in bringing new divers and other team members into the effort, and today is no different,” said Crawley. “Today we have some old hands and a fresh group of young people who have never done this before.”
Ocean stewardship and environmental awareness cover many areas, but Crowley’s recent focus has been specifically on plastic and the damage it causes to marine systems.
“Every piece of plastic ever made is still on the planet today,” she points out. “Plastic doesn’t biodegrade, but it does photodegrade. Light, especially UV light, makes the plastic brittle, breaking it into smaller and smaller pieces. It never goes away.”
Recent studies have shown how these tiny pieces accumulate within the marine food chain, are found in many of the foods we eat, and are increasingly perceived as a threat to human health. is shown.
“We need to get past the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality,” Crowley explained. “When you throw something into water, it doesn’t just sink to the bottom and disappear.
“Look at what we’re covering today,” she yells, grabbing a plastic picnic knife from the pile of trash that’s been brought to the surface. “Single-use plastics like this are a huge threat to the marine environment and, in turn, to us.”
Beyond these goals, Crowley and her dive team’s biannual underwater cleanups reflect the strong environmental stance of Port of Edmonds, which officially added these events as a key component of its environmental plan four years ago. doing. Port Commissioners David Preston, Angela Harris, Steve Johnston and Jay Grant were in attendance to show their support and thank Crowley and her team for raising awareness of this issue.
By the end of the morning, Crowley and her team had collected enough debris to fill two trash cans. Though impressive, she stresses that this is just a small dent in the global problem of marine pollution.
Learn more about joining the Crawley team on the Our Ocean and You website.
— Story and photos by Larry Vogel
