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MILE 173 on 6/24/12   -   CHESHIRE LOCATION Lane  •  South end of Baker Beach, Sutton Creek, Heceta Beach CONDITIONS Sunday 1:00 PM  •  Sunny  •  75° F  •  Wind: Calm/Light from the N  •  Tide: 6 ft HUMANS People: 2  •  Dogs: 2 ACTIVITIES Walking/running: 2 CONCERNS Litter DISTURBANCES VEHICLES ACTIV.COMMENTS In spite of the lower water level, no people were crossing Sutton Creek or using the beach on the north section of mile 173. NOTABLE WILDLIFE Seagulls, kelp, crab molt DEAD BIRDS STRANDED FISH & INVERTS crab molt--just shells, no whole crab DRIFTLINE Shells  •  Animal casings  •  Kelp/Algae  •  Small rocks  •  Wood pieces  •  Land-based debris  •  Ocean-based debris  •  Styrofoam fishing floats NEW DEVELOPMENT MODIFICATIONS NATURAL CHANGES COMMENTS Fence posts falling down around Snowy Plover nesting area. SUMMARY Walked miles 172-174 from south to north, then cut across the dunes inland and followed Sutton Creek back out to the ocean. There is less debris on the beach than there has been over the last month or so, but I was still able to pick up three bags of litter--flat foam pieces, Japanese and Chinese water bottles and plastic beer bottles. There doesn’t seem to be much, if any, debris left in the dunes or along the creek at this point. Hard Styrofoam fishing floats of indeterminate origin were found on the beach—two large floats, one medium, two small. None of these had any markings, but they had clearly been in the water for a significant period of time as all of the paint was worn off. I found the float pictured below by itself on a pristine section of beach at the north end of mile 173. It is hard plastic, nearly a foot in diameter and weighs three and a half pounds. I initially assumed that the marking were Japanese, but it turns out that they are actually Chinese and indicate that the float belongs to the East China Seas Fisheries Research Institute, located in Shanghai, China. The East China Sea is south and west of Japan. I am starting to see a bit of bull kelp on the beach for the first time in a while. There is also a lot of crab molt going on right now. While the snowy plover nesting area appears undisturbed, several of the fence posts cordoning off the area have come down and need to be re-buried in the sand. OBSERVER cheshire EMAIL   •  REPORT PUBLISHED 6/28/12 12:34 PM PHOTOS 1 Chinese Float Description: Hard plastic float belonging to the East China Seas Fisheries Research Institute, located in Shanghai, China. Location: at high water line, high time, border of miles 173-174 Date: 06/24/2012 2 Fishing Float Description: Hard plastic float belonging to the East China Seas Fisheries Research Institute, located in Shanghai, China. Date: 06/24/2012 3 Chinese Research Float Description: Hard plastic float belonging to the East China Seas Fisheries Research Institute, located in Shanghai, China. Date: 06/24/2012  PRINT       BACK TO COASTWATCH HOME