• Partnership with the Canadian Wildlife Federation
• Canada's National Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities
• Pitch-In Canada's Web Site Going Strong
• Moosehead Maritimes Beach Sweep and the Clean Nova Scotia Foundation
• Canadian Coast Cuard Site
• Bin and Bag It Campaign in the UK
• Centre for Marine Environmental Initiatives
• Yellow Fish Road Program
• Wider Caribbean Initiative on Ship Generated Waste
• Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association
• Spring 1995 Moosehead Beach Sweep
• Canadian Debris in the United Kingdom
• Gulf of Maine Council on the Protection of the Marine Environment

PARTNERSHIP WITH CWF

This year an activity kit will be distributed to 20,000 schools, which will challenge them to become "Blue Schools" and show how individual actions can combine to make a big difference for our oceans. Some 20,000 additional posters will be made available to the general public. As well, the Canadian Wildlife Federation's magazines, Canadian Wildlife and Biosphere which reach 140,000 subscribers in both official languages, will be devoted to ocean issues for their May-June editions.

CANADA'S PROGRAM OF ACTION TO PROTECT THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT FROM LAND BASED ACTIVITIES

In November 1995, Canada, along with over 110 nations, adopted the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities at a conference in Washington. Soon after the conference, Canada announced its plans to develop a National Programme of Action by 1998 -the International Year of the Oceans.

Protecting the marine environment is a responsibility shared by all levels of government and Canada's Programme of Action will be the result of strong partnerships with federal, provincial and territorial governments as well as stakeholders. A Discussion Paper was released in 1996 by the Ministers of Environment and Fisheries and Oceans and comments have been received.

A key approach in developing the Programme of Action will be to better coordinate and harmonize existing measures addressing pollution prevention and control between the federal government and the provinces. Discussions continue with Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, and provincial representatives to consolidate partnership arrangements.

Canada's National Programme of Action will have a strong focus on regional implementation in the Atlantic Ocean, St. Lawrence River, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Pacific Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Last year, Arctic Ministers agreed that a Regional Programme of Action will be developed for the Arctic under the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy. As well, under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), two coastal areas were selected for pilot projects to implement the Global Programme of Action: the Southern California Bight and the Gulf of Maine. Workshops were held for both areas to initiate projects.

PITCH-IN CANADA'S WEB SITE GOING STRONG

Pitch-In Canada, a national environmental group and the Marine Debris Program's research partner launched their web site to promote their activities. If you are interested in joining the National Marine Debris Surveillance Program, you can visit this site and apply to join!

In addition to information on the National Marine Debris Surveillance Program, the site provides information on Pitch-In Week, a major annual event promoting citizenship and environmental awareness across Canada.

For more information contact:

BEACH SWEEP RESULTS AND CNSF WEB SITE

The Clean Nova Scotia Foundation and the Gulf of Maine Council has established pages on the Foundation's web page to educate people on marine debris issues and show them what they can do about it. The site, provides facts and figures, children's games and provides details on how to set up a beach sweep in your community.

CANADIAN COAST GUARD SITE

The Canadian Coast Guard maintains an excellent site detailing the services that they provide from their environmental protection work, to search and rescue, to managing our waterways. Information on boating safety, descriptions of the Coast Guard Fleet ships and equipment, marine services fees, and much more can be found on the site at
http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/

The site also has a wide number of links to their regional offices, the Canadian Hydrographic Service (which provides navigational charts to Canada's maritime community) and links to the US Coast Guard.

UK CAMPAIGN TO REDUCE SEWAGE RELATED DEBRIS

A unique and novel campaign in the United Kingdom is working to reduce the amount of sewage related debris that ends up on their shores each year. The 'Bag It & Bin It' Campaign is encouraging the general public not to flush personal products down toilets - urging them instead to 'Bag It & Bin It'. For more details check out their web site: http://www.wsa.co.uk/

THE YELLOW FISH ROAD PROGRAM

Trout Unlimited Canada (TUC), a not-for-profit conservation organization, introduced the Yellow Fish Road Program in Calgary, in May 1991. In 1997, with the support of the Department of Fisheries & Oceans (Central & Arctic Region), over 220 Canadian communities have approved or implemented this important water quality initiative. Over 6,000 volunteers have spent an estimated 14,000 hours painting yellow fish beside about 30,000 storm drains.

The Yellow Fish Road Program is designed to educate the public about the hazards of indiscriminate dumping of unwanted chemicals such as used motor oil, antifreeze, paint, solvents, etc., down the storm drains because of their direct linkage to the nearest water course. These dangerous practices can adversely affect fish and wildlife, but, more importantly, harm drinking water sources. Community volunteer groups, such as Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, school groups, corporate green teams, and senior citizens, paint yellow fish symbols beside the storm drains. The symbols, which represent water quality as a whole, serve as a gentle reminder to dispose of toxic compounds in a safe and proper manner. An eye-catching yellow fish-shaped door hanger notice is also distributed to residences and businesses explaining the concept of the project and contains local contacts for disposal of unwanted chemicals.

Putting a Yellow Fish Road program in effect takes some thought and organization. At a minimum you need to have permission from the local works authority, some help for safety measures, as well as a map that shows you were the drains are.

If you would like to bring the program to your community, or want more information, contact:

WIDER CARIBBEAN INITIATIVE ON SHIP GENERATED WASTE

A project sponsored by the International Maritime Organization, the Wider Caribbean Initiative on Ship generated Waste (WCISW) is engaged in a number of activities dealing with waste management. A series of inventories are being compiled which are examining: maritime traffic and port reception facilities in the region, available waste management facilities to deal with the collected wastes, and a legal framework within the region to implement MARPOL Annex V.

To assist Caribbean countries in implementing MARPOL, model legislation is being developed by the WCISW project in English and Spanish. The model legislation will be presented to governments to be considered and modified to meet the needs of each individual country. MARPOL, Annex V, is an optional part of an international agreement to prevent pollution arising from ships. It specifically sets out standards addressing the disposal of ship's garbage and the facilities that are to be available in member countries.

Participating Countries: Honduras, Costa Rica, Cuba. Guatemala, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, and St. Lucia

HELLENIC MARINE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ASSOCIATION (HELMEPA)

Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association (HELMEPA) represents the Greek merchant marine community in their efforts to protect the marine environment. One program that has been in effect for at least twelve years has been the Voluntary Training Program. Through this program, officers and crew are trained in environmental issues such as properly managing ship generated wastes, oil spills, fire prevention, ship safety and other related topics. The training takes place through seminars hosted by member companies. As of June 1995 almost 900 people attended the 1994/95 training season. This includes 724 Merchant Marine Officers, 126 Hellenic Naval Officers, 40 Other ratings and 8 company staff.

For more information contact:

SPRING 1995 MOOSEHEAD BEACH SWEEP A SUCCESS!

As world leaders met in Halifax in June 1995, more than 17,000 volunteers participated in 261 shoreline clean up projects across the Maritimes. From June 3rd to 18th, over 5,700 bags of trash were collected from 307 kilometers of coastline. Looked at another way, over 100,000 items of trash were collected. Plastic and polystyrene items accounted for 61.9 percent of the total garbage collected.

Through the generous sponsorship from Moosehead Breweries Ltd., The Clean Nova Scotia Foundation provides Beach Sweep groups with all the materials for a safe and rewarding shoreline clean-up, including an organizational guide, posters, data collection cards, sample media releases, garbage bags, and blue bags. Teachers and other instructors are welcome to request the Moosehead Maritimes Beach Sweep Educational Curriculum which was developed in consultation with the Huntsman Marine Science Centre of New Brunswick. The curriculum highlights the Beach Sweep clean-up as the final stage of a comprehensive study of marine ecosystems and marine debris issues.

CANADIAN DEBRIS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

In 1995, the Globe and Mail reported that one third of debris found in the western United Kingdom came from Canada. The story, based on the work of Trevor Dixon, raises a key question about the effects of land-based sources of debris compared to ship-based sources of debris. Resolving this question will better focus efforts to deal with debris problems at their source and is a key goal of Canada's national research efforts.

Using an internationally accepted research method, originally developed by Mr. Dixon, allows the data gathered from sites on Canada's coasts to be compared with that of other countries.

GULF OF MAINE COUNCIL ON THE PROTECTION OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT

The Gulf of Maine includes the coastal zone of the Bay of Fundy (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) and of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. The Council, comprising government agencies in the region, works to enhance marine environmental protection for all citizens in the Gulf of Maine. Marine debris is one of the issues of the Council's Action Plan.

For more information contact: