![A cleanup crew on Unalaska Island, Alaska, loads bags of debris onto a skiff to transport back to the Makushin Bay--as one of NOAA's first marine debris removal projects. (NOAA) Five people on a rocky beach with a boat in the water.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20180922022950im_/https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/images/11/Mahdi_12.jpg)
JANUARY 29, 2016--This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the NOAA Marine Debris Program. To commemorate the event, the Marine Debris Program launched its 10-year campaign this week.
The program was authorized after the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act passed in 2006 (renamed “The Marine Debris Act” in 2012). Over the past 10 years, the program has accomplished a lot. This includes activities ranging from supporting many marine debris research, prevention, and removal projects through our competitive grants, creating powerful education and outreach tools, engaging displays to help raise awareness about and prevent more marine debris, and expanding our program nationwide to include ten regions and eighteen staff.
Throughout the year, we will look back on the efforts that we have put forward that have brought the issue of marine debris to light throughout the past decade. Follow our journey on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) using the hashtag #MarineDebris10YR and subscribe to our blog on WordPress.
For more information about the NOAA Marine Debris Program's 10-year anniversary campaign, contact Asma.Mahdi@noaa.gov.
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