WHOI Scientists Get Grant To Reduce Ocean Debris

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is considering a plan to deal with underwater debris.

A team of WHOI scientists have received a federal grant to deal with debris such as fishing nets, which collect off Stellwagen Bank.

This area is a protected marine sanctuary, and includes sunken wrecks, lighthouses, break walls and middens from the Paleolithic Period.

The concern is over wildlife getting caught in the nets, and the proposal is to use robots to remove the netting, allowing for the expansion of biodiversity in areas such as shipwrecks.

(Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)