Project Kaisei (from 海星, kaisei, "ocean planet" in Japanese) is a scientific and commercial mission to study and clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a large body of floating debris trapped in the Pacific Ocean by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. Discovered by NOAA, the patch is estimated to contain 20 times the density of floating debris compared to the global average. The project aims to study the extent and nature of the debris with a view to capturing, detoxifying, and recycling the material, and is organised by the Ocean Voyages Institute, a California-based 501c3 non-profit organisation dealing with marine preservation. The project is based in San Francisco and Hong Kong.
History
Project Kaisei was started in late 2008 by Mary Crowley, owner of Ocean Voyages, Inc., a for-profit yacht brokerage, Doug Woodring, and George Orbelian, from the San Francisco Bay Area, all with many years of ocean stewardship and activities behind them. As ocean lovers, Mary being a long time sailor, George a surfer and expert on surfboard design, and Doug with his open water swimming and paddling racing, each had different contacts and abilities to contribute to the group. With Doug living in Hong Kong, the group set up two points of operation on either side of the Pacific (San Francisco and Hong Kong) to help begin to bring all parties to the table to stem the flow of plastic and marine debris into our ocean.
Project goals
The project was launched on 19 March 2009, with plans for an initial phase of scientific study of the plastic debris in the North Pacific Gyre and feasibility study of the recovery and recycling technologies. The goal is to bring about a global collaboration of science, technology and solutions, to help remove some of the floating waste. New catch methods for the debris are being studied, which would have low energy input and low marine life loss. Technologies for remediation or recycling are being evaluated, to potentially create secondary products from the waste, which in turn could help subsidize a larger scale cleanup. The project has completed two expeditions, one in the summer of 2009, and one in 2010. New data on the issue has been collected, and more research and planning needs to be done in order to understand the metrics and costs associated with a larger scale cleanup effort. Planning is now taking place for future research and expeditions to take place which would allow for the testing of new capture technologies and equipment, as well as the demonstration of some of the remediation or recycling technologies that could be used.
Initial voyage
In August 2009, the initial study and feasibility voyage phase of Project Kaisei began, conducted by two vessels, the diesel-powered research vessel R/V New Horizon, and the project flagship, the tall ship Kaisei. The New Horizon, owned by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, left San Diego on 2 August 2009 on the Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (SEAPLEX), set to last until 21 August. The SEAPLEX expedition is funded by the University of California, San Diego, the National Science Foundation with supplemental funding from the Project Kaisei. Two days later the Kaisei a smaller tall ship, owned by the Ocean Voyages Institute, departed San Francisco on 4 August, and was expected to undertake a 30-day voyage. The Kaisei was to investigate the size and concentration of the debris field, and explore retrieval methods, while the New Horizon would join her and study the effect of the debris field on marine life.
Intensive sampling
On reaching the patch, from the Californian coast, New Horizon began intensive sampling on 9 August. The crew took samples every few hours around the clock, using nets of various sizes and collecting samples at various depths. New Horizon returned on Friday 21 August 2009. SEAPLEX reported their initial findings on Thursday 27 August 2009, declaring that the patch stretched at least across, and that from 100 consecutive surface samples taken along that 1,700 path track taken through the patch, plastic was found in every one. Miriam Goldstein, chief scientist of the SEAPLEX expedition described the findings as "shocking". Speaking about the patch, Goldstein added, "There’s no island, there’s no eighth continent, it doesn’t look like a garbage dump. It looks like beautiful ocean. But then when you put the nets in the water, you see all the little pieces".