We did a test trawl in Majuro Atoll to make sure it all works. The
trawl is a 60cm wide net with a 333 micron mesh, roughly 1/3 of a mm.
It’s smaller than the holes in your t-shirt. We drag it across the
sea surface for exactly 60 minutes and record the exact distance we’ve
gone, but also the speed on the knot meter. We’re measuring particles
of plastic per square kilometer by skimming the surface layer of the
ocean. We’ll do this over 100 times in the next 2 months as we sail
from Majuro Atoll to Japan (3000 miles), then Tokyo to Maui (4000
miles). Follow our blog to see what we find!
Marcus Eriksen, PhD
Executive Director
5 Gyres Institute
5gyres.org
323-395-1843
skype: marcus..eriksen
