FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT:
will.reisman@progress-pa.com
415-420-0905

RICHARDSON BAY REGIONAL AGENCY AND PARTNERS REMOVE TWO TONS OF DEBRIS FROM BAY FLOOR AS PART OF ANCHORAGE CLEANUP EFFORT
Effort shows scale of litter and refuse in Richardson Bay

Sausalito, CA— The Richardson Bay Regional Agency and its partners collected some 4,000 pounds—more than two tons—of litter, refuse, and discarded objects as part of a weeklong marine debris removal effort on Richardson Bay.
With funding from RBRA, scuba divers and other technical experts working with Merkel and Associates removed an array of objects from within the Richardson Bay Eelgrass Protection Zone (EPZ), an area of the water now off-limits to anchoring.

Parts of the EPZ were formerly used for anchoring by long-term live aboard vessels, known locally as anchor outs, and as a dumping ground for abandoned and derelict vessels. Now protected from these damaging activities, the EPZ officially launched last October and will help restore and protect eelgrass, a critical ecological component of the Bay.

“It’s great to see such meaningful progress in restoring the health of Richardson Bay,” said RBRA Board Member Stephanie Moulton-Peters, who also sits on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. “The removal of over two tons of debris from the Eelgrass Protection Zone is a major step toward protecting this vital habitat for generations to come.”

From an area of only one acre—or less than 1% of the former anchoring area—the team pulled out more than 2 tons of marine debris last week, including the following:

•Two small boats
•A shopping cart
•Garden tools
•Marine batteries
•Several outboard engines and portable generators
•A PlayStation
•An electric foot massager
•Multiple tarps
•Several yards of anchor chain
•Multiple anchors
•A microwave
•Dozens of glass bottles
•Numerous empty motor oil and fuel containers
•An office chair
•A tennis racket
•An electric keyboard
•A baseball bat
•Two hand saws
•A floor lamp
•A fishing net
•Several sheets of plexiglass

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Keith Merkel, long time eelgrass restoration specialist working in Richardson Bay and principal ecologist of the firm leading the marine debris removal. “We have had divers working in the water here for years as part of our eelgrass restoration efforts, and we’ve seen that the Bay floor is littered in this kind of debris.”

Covering an area of more than 300 acres, the former anchoring area is covered in so much debris that it gets in the way of efforts to replant eelgrass.

“Right now, we are targeting our debris removal efforts in places where boats have been removed and eelgrass restoration is planned for this summer, but ultimately the whole EPZ should have debris removed,” said Merkel. “That’s many, many tons of debris.”

The cleanup efforts are in support of RBRA’s ongoing Eelgrass Restoration Project, which aims to restore at least 15 acres of eelgrass by 2027 and provide job training for early career conservationists from disadvantaged communities. The current project, in partnership with San Francisco State University’s Estuary and Ocean Science Center in Tiburon, Audubon California, Merkel & Associates, and Coastal Policy Solutions, has already restored nine acres of eelgrass, in addition to the 70+ acres restored in Richardson Bay by partners over the past decade.

“Despite years of environmental degradation, eelgrass has shown remarkable resilience and ability to recover as abandoned and derelict vessels are removed from the Bay,” says Rebecca Schwartz Lesberg, president of Coastal Policy Solutions. “It’s exciting that we are in a time when the environmental health of the Bay is being prioritized.”

Eelgrass is a critical component of a healthy and vibrant Richardson Bay. It supports fisheries, reduces erosion, sequesters carbon and is a crucial ecological resource for harbor seals, sea lions, and a complex community of marine organisms. However, when anchors, chains, and other ground tackle scrape along the Bay bottom, they essentially act as a lawn mower for all living plants. This creates “crop circles” or barren areas where no eelgrass can grow.

"Sadly, I am not surprised at the amount of debris and discarded items that we removed from the Bay floor, below where vessels were at anchor for years," said RBRA Executive Director Brad Gross. "We are not accusing anyone of deliberately discarding items overboard. That said, the type and amount of debris littering the Bay floor and preventing the healthy recovery of eelgrass reinforces the fact that an environmentally sensitive area like Richardson Bay is no place for mariners to permanently reside on vessels at anchor. Cleanup efforts like these are crucial to helping plant, protect and restore our eelgrass. We are incredibly grateful for the partnership of Merkel and Associates and all the divers who took part in this great initiative.”

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The Richardson Bay Regional Agency (RBRA) is a local government agency serving Belvedere, Mill Valley, Tiburon, and unincorporated Southern Marin County. RBRA is dedicated to maintaining and improving the navigational waterways, open waters, and shoreline of Richardson Bay.