\n\t\t\t\tTasi Watch ranger Julius Reyes displays one of the items that were brought in. (Contributed Photo)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\u201cSince the beginning of this contest, over 300 lbs of marine debris were collected out of the ocean. We\u2019ve had some pretty bizarre items like a locker door, a wakeboard, and a tire. Most of the common items were buoys left by other boats,\u201d said program manager Becky Furey. \u201cMINA would like to remind everyone to be a responsible steward for the ocean. From everyday litter like plastic bags, plastic wrappers and plastic bottles, to batteries, kitchen appliances, fishing nets and other waste\u2014the trash gathering in the ocean is turning our beautiful reefs into dumps. None of our waste belongs in the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, MINA is working to reduce marine debris through a campaign that encourages the community to reduce plastic pollution. The Plastic Bag Challenge is a campaign that promotes the use of reusable bags in order to decrease the CNMI\u2019s reliance on plastic bags. Let\u2019s work together for a clean and healthy ocean.<\/p>\n
This year marks 10 years of MINA\u2019s founding. Tickets are now on sale for the Green Gala, MINA\u2019s largest fundraiser of the year. With proceeds going toward the ongoing work to conserve the diverse natural resources of the region, this year is even more special as Micronesia Islands Nature Alliance celebrates 10 years of working with island communities to sustain the natural environment to ensure the island way of life. Contact MINA to find out more about the Green Gala and the different programs focused on conservation at 233-REEF or email minaoutreach@gmail.com. (MINA)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Micronesia Islands Nature Alliance, in partnership with the Saipan Fishermen\u2019s Association, held its 3rd…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":207299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4402,554,190,6426],"class_list":["post-207298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-green-gala","tag-mina","tag-natural","tag-saipan-fishermen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}