"Marine Debris" is addressed in a September 25, 2019 US General Accounting Office (GAO) report. The GAO-19-653 report advises that the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC) is taking action on marine debris "such as plastic bottles and abandoned fishing gear ... but Additional Steps Could Enhance the Federal Response".
The report examines the following three items:
- How the committee coordinates among federal agencies and the process for determining membership
- The extent to which the committee's biennial reports contain required elements
- Experts' suggestions on actions the federal government could take to most effectively address marine debris
GAO made four recommendations "including that NOAA establish a time frame for documenting membership and the committee develop processes to analyze the effectiveness of its efforts and identify priority funding."