The implications of MARPOL Annex V on the management of ports and coastal communities

Abstract

The passage of the Marine Plastics Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (MPPRCA), which codified Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), has encompassed every commercial and recreational shipping and boating facility in the United States. As a group, these ports, harbors, and marinas form a significant, although proportionately small, portion of the coastline of the country. More important, the economic benefits derived from the complex shoreside infrastructures required for international ocean trade, commercial and recreational fishing, and pleasure boating indicate just how critical it is for these facilities to be in conformance with effective and prudent coastal zone and environmental management practices.