| "People physically picked up wreckage in the lagoon waters." | |
| William Pendergrass, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Coastal Resources Management Office |
|
During a storm on July 20, 1982, a commercial fishing vessel transporting cargo from Guam to Japan wrecked on a reef just off Rota Island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. As the all-metal vessel sat deteriorating on the reef for 26 years, rusting debris scattered throughout Tatqua Beach and lagoon, creating a visual scar and making the area dangerous to walk, swim, or fish.
In 2007, the islands’ Coastal Resources Management Office decided to remove the remains of the Nam Sung 62 vessel using donated equipment, volunteer efforts, and very little grant monies. Nineteen months later, there is no sign of the debris, and wildlife and people are returning to the beach.
“It was hard work and required dedicated people working together,” says William Pendergrass Rota Coastal Resources Management coastal coordinator.
Cleaning up about 200 tons of debris from the Nam Sung 62 was done in three unofficial phases, Pendergrass says.
The first phase was organizing volunteers to take part in the September 2007 Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. During the event, 165 students and volunteers worked to clean debris from Tatqua Beach.
“People physically picked up wreckage in the lagoon waters,” Pendergrass recalls. “Sometimes two or three people at a time were dragging the pieces into shore.”
A grant of $6,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program helped facilitate phase two of the project, where Pendergrass worked with local agencies, businesses, and organizations to break down and remove larger pieces of the vessel.
Partner organizations included Rota Marianas Visitors Authority, D&J Enterprises, Rota Resort and Country Club, Guam Pacific Power Corporation, Rota Department of Public Works, and the Rota Department of Public Safety.
“The hardest part,” says Pendergrass, “was undergoing the permitting and regulatory compliance process.”
Part of the challenge was the need to create a removal plan that set the example for others on the island. For instance, all work during this phase was done only at low tide to ensure minimal environmental impacts, and a nearby road was bypassed to protect a threatened species.
Using volunteers to provide the labor was also challenging because the work was physically grueling. Groups of eight or nine volunteers worked four different times from April to August 2008 before all but the two largest pieces of the hull remained, meeting the grant requirements.
But Pendergrass wanted the entire vessel removed. With an additional $4,401 from the Coastal Resources Management Office, Pendergrass again worked through the regulatory process and gathered volunteers. The final remains of the Nam Sung 62 were removed on April 8, 2009.
“You wouldn’t even know that there had been something out there today,” Pendergrass says. “The people are swimming, fishing, and walking on the beach again. It was a satisfying project.”
For more information on the removal of the Nam Sung 62, contact William Pendergrass at (670) 532-0466, or william.pendergrass@crm.gov.mp.
