California’s Coastal Cleanup
Monday, September 14th, 2009
With so much trash and litter entering our ocean every year, the problem of preventing and reducing marine debris is an urgent challenge that we must meet to preserve the health of our ocean. On this report, we talk with Eben Schwartz with the California Coastal Commission and Jolyn Bibb with Whole Foods about California Coastal Cleanup Day which annually brings tens of thousands of volunteers to the state’s beaches and inland shorelines to remove the debris that has accumulated over the course of the year.
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The Marine Mammal Center recognizes human interdependence with marine mammals and their importance as sentinels of the ocean environment, the health of which is essential for all life. Learn more about this unique hospital for marine mammals that cares for diseased or injured animals and then returns them to the wild from Executive Director Jeff Boehm. (Photo courtesy of Marine Mammal Center)
The West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health includes a 26-point action plan which was released in July of 2008. California’s Secretary for Natural Resources Mike Chrisman gives us an update on what’s been accomplished since then. (Photo courtesy of the Governor’s Office)
The objective of marine protected areas is to protect and enhance the fish and invertebrates that live there as well as the habitat they rely on. The question is: are those objectives being met? John Ugoretz, Resource Assessment Program Manager with the California Department of Fish and Game’s Marine Region, offers his perspective. 
Jennifer Stock, Education and Outreach Coordinator with the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, describes how researchers study Cordell Bank in its natural habitat. 
The Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary is located west of Bodega Bay in Northern California. Cordell Bank is basically a large under water rock that sits on the sea floor and reaches to within 115 feet of the surface. It provides a rich habitat for marine mammals, seabirds, fishes and invertebrates. Jennifer Stock, who is the Education and Outreach Coordinator with the Sanctuary, is our guest. (Photo courtesy of Kip F. Evans)
