We are proud to announce a partnership between NOAA Marine Debris members, USCG members, Maritime Gloucester, Gloucester's Clean City Commission members, and One Ocean One Love, a local, sustainability-minded shop. We have one goal in mind: eradicate marine pollution. This issue affects our economy, our landscapes, and worst of all, helpless marine life. In order to attack this problem, it needs a full court press. Our project will not only collect pollution, but educate the public, and most importantly, younger citizens. Our plan is to install one Seabin (The Seabin Project) and one Marine Skimmer (Marine Accessories) into Gloucester Harbor. They will collect marine pollution 24/7, all year long. We are installing two different products that do the same job for scientific purposes. First, we will determine which product is the most effective and able to stand up to New England weather. We can also gather data on the types and amounts of pollution the two products collect. Lastly, their locations will be at Cripple Cove (Seabin) and Maritime Gloucester (Marine Skimmer). The beauty of this project will be two fold: actively collecting plastics, detergents, and other harmful substance out of our water, and also becoming a part of the Maritime Gloucester education program, engaging children and families all summer long. At the end of our one-year study, we will determine which product is most fit for our specific needs on Cape Ann and move forward with the purchase of several more to be placed strategically throughout the region, becoming a much wider effort towards combating this mess. The seed money from this grant will go a long way in helping us procure the accessories needed for data collection materials and absorbent pads to be placed in the Marine Skimmer, which we anticipate will be close to $1,000 a year. The video I have attached below was done by Clean Ocean Access, and will give you a great idea of the Marine Skimmer to be installed at Maritime Gloucseter. If you have any questions please reach out to myself or any of the mentioned members above. We greatly appreciate your consideration and possible assistance in completing our funding needs. Best regards, Zachary D. ThomasU.S. Coast Guard Station Gloucester