Cordova Harbor Clean-up Day a success!

By Megan Milligan

Fishing line was a common sight during the clean-up

Trash bags fill the back of the Science Center vehicle

Last Saturday was a gorgeous, sunny day – the perfect setting for our first annual Cordova Harbor Clean-up Day. Forty-five volunteers showed up to help get our harbor ready for the upcoming summer season. As fishermen return to Cordova and as the first salmon gillnet opener draws nearer, the harbor has become a bustling hub of activity. While all this activity helps stimulate the town’s economy, the increased number of fishermen and their boats have a less desirable effect: more trash. With help from community organizations, including the Copper River Watershed Project, City of Cordova Refuse Department, Cordova Clean Harbor Project, Native Village of Eyak and the Prince William Sound Science Center, volunteers spent four hours cleaning up the harbor, focusing on the docks, breakwater and surrounding parking lots. Overall, volunteers picked up 50 bags of trash plus other large debris. The most common types of trash were pieces of plastic and remnants of fishing line and nets. As summer activity continues to gear up, please help keep our harbor clean by picking up after yourself and your pets!