Deanna Davenport wanted to show off the beauty of the Southern California coastline to friends visiting from Colorado, so they hopped on a boat with hopes of finding dolphins, whales and other wildlife.
Instead, they found what many boaters have reported since Valentine’s Day — shiny Mylar balloons floating on the ocean’s surface, trash left behind following romantic holiday celebrations.
“It was devastating,” said Davenport, who lives in Orange and was off Newport Beach when she saw the debris that had found its way to the water. “You just expect to see clean water and it was just so disturbing to see so much litter out there with the balloons.”
So instead of enjoying a leisurely outing, they got to work cleaning up.
Other ocean lovers and boaters have done the same, spending afternoons intended for a fun day at sea, instead plucking balloons out of the water before they became tangled with, or eaten by, sea creatures or birds.
“Balloons have been everywhere,” reported Erik Combs, captain on Harbor Breeze Cruises out of Long Beach.
And with St. Patrick’s Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and graduation on the horizon, Combs said, he knows there will be much more work to do.
“We try and pick up what we can, especially if we come across a big pile of them,” he said. “If we tried to pick up every balloon, it would take all day long.”
Rich German, who created the nonprofit Project O, makes it a point to scour the sea near his home in Laguna Beach after each big holiday, knowing what he’ll find.
He shot out about five miles from the coast on his personal watercraft the weekend after Valentine’s Day and scooped up 31 balloons in just a few hours. He stuffed them in a small compartment near his seat until it was full, the strings whipping in the wind as he made his way home.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t surprise me at all,” said the ocean enthusiast known for stand-up paddling with sea creatures. “They were miles offshore. It was crazy. Everywhere I looked.”
For a holiday all about love, maybe people should consider giving more love to the ocean.
“My greatest love are the dolphins and whales and marine life. Anything I can do that might help protect the ocean and the sacred life that lives in it, that’s what I’m all about,” German said.
“If Valentine’s is meant to be about love, then I feel that it’s our moral, social and spiritual responsibility to protect the ocean and our environments, specifically to protect the animals we all love. In the spirit of Valentine’s, if we’re truly going to show love, let’s show love to Mother Earth.”
He said he knows many people who release the balloons simply aren’t considering where they might end up, but he hopes by spreading photos and videos of what he found on social media, people will become more educated and make better decisions.
“If anything, worst case, we can raise awareness so they think twice before buying them,” he said. “Best case would be to ban the sale and use of the balloons.”
A few years ago, German launched an online petition, which to date has generated about 1,750 signatures, with hopes that his hometown of Laguna Beach would ban the balloons. But discussions with city leaders deflated as other bans — such as that of smoking in public — took precedence, he said.
“This is definitely on people’s radars, people understand that these balloons are dangerous to marine life,” he said. “They just aren’t necessary. It just seemed like it was something we need to revisit.”
In 2018, California strengthened an existing law that requires sellers of the “electrically conductive material filled with a gas lighter than air” to ensure they have a weighted object keeping them anchored, as well as identify the manufacturer and add a warning statement. Changes to the law in 2018 added misdemeanor violations, enacted mostly due to concerns about power outages that can be caused by the balloons.
Staff of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, a rescue and rehabilitation facility in Laguna Beach, were out on the water doing research and monitoring Monday, Feb. 17, when their trip turned into a balloon clean-up effort, said spokeswoman Krysta Higuchi.
They picked up about 20 balloons from the ocean’s surface in a few hours.
“It’s not only dangerous for marine mammals, but for marine birds and the whole ecosystem in general,” she said. “These balloons are out floating into the ocean. If they don’t get swallowed by fish or birds, they break down into these micro plastics. They have a long life cycle.”
The goal, for now, is to educate people.
“They don’t realize if someone lets it go in Riverside or Aliso Viejo … everything drifts to the ocean,” she said. “We don’t want to be the party police and say you can’t celebrate. We just want to educate people.”
The message isn’t just about balloons, but other hazardous items that end up on the beach. About a month ago, Higuchi and others from PMMC came across hundreds of blue plastic confetti pieces left on the beach after a gender-reveal party.
“Those are great to have, but maybe something other than plastic confetti,” she said. “They were everywhere, hundreds of little pieces.”
Marcos Castro, owner of Lucia Barracuda Rod and Reel out of Oceanside, said he found balloons dotting the coast every 400 to 600 feet during a fishing trip to Dana Point following Valentine’s Day.
“I couldn’t pick them all up. It was crazy,” he said. “I think people think it’s some magical thing and let it go.”
For Kiersten Mehl, who was aboard the boat in Newport Beach with Davenport, it was a teaching moment for her kids, Kendall, 9, and Jeran, 8. They even made a video about the clean up, titled “Save Ocean Animals,” after they plucked about 14 balloons from the water.
“My son absolutely loves animals, he is always asking me where there’s an animal to save,” said Mehl. “It was perfect to give him the opportunity that would allow him to help the animals out in the ocean there. We were absolutely shocked at how many we found out there.”
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February 24, 2020 at 11:59PM
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Trashed Valentine’s Day balloons show no love for the ocean or its wildlife - OCRegister
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