CLEAN OCEAN ACTION INC

Clean Ocean Action (COA) works to improve ocean health for the benefit of our communities, marine life, and ecosystems, by identifying pollution sources, educating the public, and inspiring action for change.

Clean Ocean Action employs multi-pronged strategies to combat threats to the ocean. They include:

Finding pollution sources, identifying solutions, and launching campaigns to eliminate the source.

Promoting laws and programs that protect public health at swimming beaches.

Educating citizens and communities about the connection between polluting habits and behaviors, and ocean health.

Ensuring laws are enforced, pollution is reduced, and violators are prosecuted.

Advocating for monitoring and repair of infrastructure.

Identifying sound alternatives for sediment removed from coastal waterways.

Reducing plastics and litter.

Monitoring complex public notices for harmful proposals.

Targeting toxins in waterways to ensure fish and shellfish are safe to eat.

Working with COAlition partners to promote comprehensive legislation to establish the nation’s first Clean Ocean Zone, which will permanently protect the marine waters off New York and New Jersey.

COA is large coalition of businesses, NGOs, similar-minded non-profits, and concerned community groups who work together to collectively harness the power of shared voices from the tip of Montauk, NY down to Cape May, NJ. COAs strengths lies in the ability to mobilize people to effect change, from basic personal actions up to enacting legislative change, all for the good health of the ocean. Over ten thousand volunteers engage in the annual beach sweeps twice a year, thousands of students participate in the Student Summits, and hundreds more are touched by COA through community presentation, student leadership programs and special events.

COA’s bold campaigns have:
• ended ocean dumping at eight dumpsites off the coast of NJ including sewage sludge, acid waste, toxin-laden muck
• blocked ocean industrialization, including seven Liquefied Natural Gas facilities
• passed the first and strongest law in the nation to prohibit offshore oil and gas drilling in state waters
• passed the nation’s strongest fertilizer control law to protect coastal waterways
• reduced sources of raw sewage protecting swimmers from dangerous pathogens
• established the region’s largest environmental litter reduction event, Beach Sweeps, and removed over 6,700,000 pieces of trash
• conducted a statewide assessment of microplastics along the entire NJ coast
• created a model coastal watershed protection program, called Rally for the Waterways
• created a community pollution reduction certification program, called Municipal Blue Star

COA also developed “Watershed Mindfulness” programs to engage people in pollution reduction at the local level, as well as coordinating diverse and engaging educational programs for all ages (youth – seniors), to reduce pollution, climate change and plastics.

COA conducts research on plastics, pathogens, and chemical pollution by engaging citizen science with rigorous oversight by the PhD staff scientist. Research is expertly coordinated with state and federal agencies, as well as with outside scientists to ensure quality and success.
COA acts as a watchdog. COA’s Policy Attorney monitors rules and regulations, legislative proposals, and policies to ensure they are protective of water quality. The Policy Attorney also responds to and investigates calls from citizens about polluting activities.
Together, the staff, a lean green ocean pollution fighting machine, implements action campaigns, including meetings and rallies to inform the public and record testimony. Petitions and letter-writing campaigns are prepared with scientific, technical, and legal expertise to ensure protection of marine water quality from pollution, including from pathogens, chemicals, and marine debris.
The results are clear: the waterways of the Jersey Shore have come a long way from a national joke due to pollution to a premier international tourism destination. It is a powerful story of the little coalition that could and did, and with continued support, will keep making waves for clean water.