Ken La Valley, Extension Assistant Professor/Specialist, Commercial Fisheries Technology Transfer, is the recipient of an $82,877 award from the National Oceanic and Atmopsheric Administration (NOAA) for the project, "Marine Debris from Land to Sea: Holistic Characterization, Reduction and Education Efforts in New Hampshire."

La Valley will serve as co-principal investigator with Dr. Jenna Jambeck, Research Assistant Professor, UNH Environmental Engineering. Partners include Shane Bradt, Extension Specialist, Geospatial Technologies, the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation and Extension's Technology Group.

This project will take a holistic approach to marine debris identification, monitoring and mitigation, by tracking marine debris. The objectives are to better characterize ocean-based debris sources and distribution patterns with the help of recreational and commercial fishermen and to develop a web-based data input and reporting system. Again using recreational divers, the project will look at how to implement a unique underwater cleanup program, by continuing to investigate the prevalence of land-based debris sources, and mitigate the problem through education and outreach in the industry and community.