What are Mermaid's Tears?
July 22, 2009

by Joao De Macedo, Mavericks Environmental Manager

Mavericks and Save The Waves recently organized the second of its perodic beach cleanups around International Surfing Day celebrations this past June 20th. "Mavericks: Value of a Wave" surveys were also deployed to the beachgoing public. On the beach we revisited the lessons about what happens to plastic that is not recycled and saw up close the negative impact of plastic trash that mostly comes from our cities and towns - it ends up on our beaches and in the ocean.

Look closely on any beach (even a clean beach like Mavericks) at the high tide line you will find the infamous "mermaid's tears". These pieces of marine debris have been broken down by the sun and the waves, but have not disappeared or been absorbed. So they end up washed onto beaches with the high tide. Marine debris is also circulating in the Pacific Ocean in what has been called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (an island of plastic roughly the size of Texas). Plastic and styrofoam are some of the worse forms of marine debris, but other forms such as cigarette butts, food wrappers and beverage packages, etc, also don't disappear, and end up as tiny pieces of trash that endanger and kill marine life, litter beaches worldwide and contribute to global warming.

We are partnering with Save The Waves and World Savvy to increase ocean awareness, activism and literacy. This coming Fall multiple visits to schools in the Bay Area will share these values. Also, we've committed $1 from each of our Hallowed Ground Tees to Save The Waves to help this Mavericks Education program, as well as its mission in defending coastal environments around surf spots. Stay tuned for more updates on the Mavericks Education program and info on what our partners Save The Waves and World Savvy are up to!