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Longest Floating Structure In History Will Clean Up Ocean

by | Dec 18, 2015 | Science | 2 comments

Fabrique-Computer-Graphics-The-Ocean-Cleanup31In 2016, the ‘longest floating structure in history’ known as the ‘ocean cleanup’ will be placed in the ocean, off the coast of Japan. The ‘Ocean Cleanup’ was founded by 20 year old founder and CEO Boyan Slat. Currently deployment is being explored to take place off the coast of Tsushima, an island located in the waters between Japan and South-Korea. The ‘ocean cleanup’ will span at 2000 meters, which beats the previous world record of 1000 meters for the Tokyo Mega-Float. It will be floating for 2 years, removing plastic pollution from the waters. Japan has a huge plastic pollution crisis, with one cubic meter of pollution per person washing up on shores every year. This will be the first clean up project of what is hoped to be many more to come. The ‘Ocean Cleanup’ website describes its mission as follows: “The Ocean Cleanup’s goal is to fuel the world’s fight against oceanic plastic pollution by initiating the largest cleanup in history”. Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup said: “Taking care of the world’s ocean garbage problem is one of the largest environmental challenges mankind faces today. Not only will this first cleanup array contribute to cleaner waters and coasts but it simultaneously is an essential step towards our goal of cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This deployment will enable us to study the system’s efficiency and durability over time.” MORE

  • Francis is a marine biologist with an MBA and over 20 years of professional aquarium experience. Francis is the former Aquatic Development Manager at Hagen USA., makers of Fluval brand aquarium products. He co-stars on Nat Geo WILD's reality TV series Fish Tank Kings where he is the resident "Fish Geek" and was Director of Marketing at Living Color Aquariums. He is an avid explorer having visited over 45 countries and lived in 7. At 17, he was among the youngest aquarists ever hired by the Vancouver Aquarium, where he worked for 7 years. His aquatic biology experience ranges from larval fish rearing to the design, construction and operational management of renowned public aquariums around the world. Francis is currently head of marketing at the world's largest vertically integrated fish farming company.

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2 Comments

  2. Steven Hueston
    Steven Hueston on December 19, 2015 at 12:48 pm

    I know for a fact the US navy dumps trash almost daily in every part of the ocean. A shit ton of trash. Hundreds of people aboard generates allt of waste and we would form a chain from trash room to the side of the deck and toss giant bags in for hours it seemed like.

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