CRRA2019

California Regional Coordinator

Dr. Sherry Lippiatt is the California Regional Coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program (NOAA MDP). She works with stakeholders to identify regional marine debris priorities and provides expertise and oversight for MDP-funded prevention, removal, and research projects in the state. Sherry came to the NOAA MDP in 2010 as a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow and was selected as a 2016 NOAA National Ocean Service Team Member of the Year. Sherry holds a Ph.D. in Ocean Sciences from the University of California Santa Cruz.

The California Ocean Litter Strategy: Addressing Marine Debris from Source to Sea was developed to increase collaboration and galvanize interest and funding to tackle marine debris in California. The Strategy was developed through a collaborative, stakeholder-driven process facilitated by the NOAA Marine Debris Program and California Ocean Protection Council. The Strategy updates and expands the 2008 document “An Implementation Strategy for the California Ocean Protection Council to Reduce and Prevent Ocean Litter.” The new Strategy includes six stakeholder goals, covering source reduction, product redesign, trash capture and removal, research, behavior change, and ocean-sourced marine debris. There are 64 specific action items under these goals, which outline how the marine debris community will address the issue over the next six years. This presentation will discuss the priorities of the California Ocean Litter Strategy, success stories to date, and opportunities for CRRA participants from various sectors to get involved.