Aquatic Invasive Species: Hydrilla Native to Africa and believed to have been introduced to American waters from the aquarium trade in the 1960’s, hydrilla has quickly spread across the southern U.S. from Connecticut to California. By the 1990’s millions was spent yearly on its control, but this year New York alone has budgeted $800,000 to
While the true solution to curb the pollution problem lies in several areas such reducing the single-use plastic items as well as better recycling programs. However, Aquarius Systems does offer a Solution to the Pollution that plagues rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and other waterways; it is an Aquatic Trash Skimmer. Marine debris is not a new
West Coast beachcombers have treasured the rare sightings of Japanese glass floats; spherical buoys strung together to aid fishermen in managing their catch. It was once thought that these translucent orbs took nearly a decade to reach the U.S.–traveling up to 8,000 miles of open sea. But in 2011, 5 million tons of debris was
The Balkan nations have poor waste management programs, and tons of garbage routinely end up in rivers, including the occasional washing machine or computer screen. A broken barrier this week caused a massive buildup of garbage on the Drina that has threatened Bosnia’s Visegrad dam. Officials say that between 6,000 and 8,000 cubic meters of
Getting Your Harvester Ready for Winter As the weather turns cooler it is time to think about winterizing your aquatic weed harvester or other surface water management equipment. Read about Aquarius Systems basic winterizing tips. Japanese Tsunami Debris Will Soon Make Landfall As Japan rebuilds and regroups, a 25 million tone marine debris field created
In 1985, Muskegon Lake in Michigan was declared a Great Lakes Area of Concern by the EPA. The West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission will utilize $3.1 million to clean up the lake and undo years of environment abuse. The abuse began in the 1800’s during the lumber era when sawmill debris was tossed into
Alex Weber, a junior at Carmel High School in California, and her friend Jack Johnston had repeatedly come across large numbers of golf balls on the ocean floor while snorkeling in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary near the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. As environmentally conscious teens, they started removing golf balls from the water, one
A monumental eco-challenge facing the planet is plastic marine debris. The modern economy has produced more than eight billion metric tons of newly manufactured plastic, but 75% of it becomes plastic waste. It is estimated that approximately five trillion pieces of plastic, or roughly 250,000 metric tons, have littered the waters. So, what can be
Every year marine species, from lobsters and fish to sea lions and birds, become trapped or entangled in lost, abandoned or discarded fishing gear. This “derelict gear” continues to capture fish and wildlife while at sea, even if no fishermen retrieves the catch. The Fishing for Energy partnership works to address this problem in two
Despite the much-touted health benefits of fish, consumers may be getting more than just lean protein in their servings of seafood. Researchers have found that around a quarter of the fish in markets in Indonesia and California contained plastic or fibrous material in their gut. This study is one of the first to make a