Sampling Overview

It appears that 1 sample a day is what I will normally be taking primarily because of the time involved.  If there are obvious holes in the data, I may be able to fill them in on the way back.


Most of the samples don't appear to contain any plastic.  The most plastic (Styrofoam) was taken in Silva Bay (near Nanaimo).  Silva Bay has two marinas and lots of anchored boats. Marina floats probably are the source of the Styrofoam. Several other samples have had a small number of pieces of Styrofoam.  The sample from Bella Bella contained a small piece of monofilament and possibly other filamentous plastic.

Samples taken with Hobbit are with the boat at idle speed. Except for the first few samples which were 15 minutes, I have been taking 30 minute samples to increase the volume.  The knot log registers 3.8 to 4.0 kts and the GPS typically reads anywhere from about 2.5 to 4.5 kts over the ground. I used the dinghy in Silva Bay and Port McNeill. The speed of the dinghy, as measured by a hand-held GPS, is approximately 2 kts. All samples except the first have been a straight line. Samples are only taken when it is calm and nothing more than ripples are on the surface.

Some photographs of plastic sampling as well as sample 4 are presented below.