Coastbuster

Calling all citizen scientists! Beach keepers and coastal safety officers need your help. Use this app to report large, unusual or potentially hazardous marine debris–including objects swept into the sea by Japan’s devastating March 2011 tsunami. You can help keep our West Coast clean and safe by reporting marine debris. Simply photograph the debris you find with Coastbuster, enter a few descriptions, and upload to Ocean Networks Canada. Well forward your reports to authorities and upload your photos to Flickr, where you can browse, share and comment on the full collection of marine debris snapshots. The map feature lets you locate your photos as well as those uploaded by others.

The information and photos you share may help scientists better understand how winds and currents carry marine debris across the oceans.

The app was conceived and developed by Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) with the assistance of Simon Fraser Universitys Spatial Interface Research Lab (SFU/SIRL) and Surfrider Foundation.

We appreciate your support and participation in the inventory of marine debris!