'Don't want to surf in litter': Pro surfer, photographer to visit Tybee, boost clean-up efforts

Professional surfer Anna Gudauskus loves catching a good wave.

For the past week, she and internationally-acclaimed water photographer, Sarah Lee, have been making their way down the eastern seaboard and dabbling in the ocean’s waters. Their next stop on Tuesday is Tybee Island.

However, Gudauskus and Lee are doing more than just surfing. The pair are fronting a beach clean-up campaign as part of the Catch a Clean Wave Initiative. Kona Brewing Co., a Hawaii-born beer company, is sponsoring the event and donating $50,000 to the Save the Waves Coalition as part of the initiative.

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In addition to searching for the best breaks on Tybee, the duo will join beachgoers in a community beach clean-up and enjoy some ice cold Kona beers as well.

The eight-stop tour, which began at Long Sands Beach, Maine, and will end at Cocoa Beach, Fla.,  is an effort to raise awareness for ocean conservation and encourage locals to help keep their beach clean.

“Surfers definitely care about the environment because it’s our playground,” said Gudauskus, “You don’t want to be surfing in litter.”

Gudauskus and Lee have already collected hundreds of pounds of trash so far along east coast beaches. Last summer, the two kicked off the first Catch A Clean Wave event off the west coast. Their goal is to leave the shores and coastal waters in a better state than when they found it.

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Lee, whose water photography has appeared in publications like National Geographic, CNN and ESPN, said she’s encountered trash in the ocean plenty of times. On one of their previous stops to Rockaway Beach, N.Y., Lee, while swimming, was scooping litter out of the waters and stuffing them into her wetsuit sleeves.

“We’re spending so much time in the ocean so you see the effects,” said Lee, “You have to care for the place that you love.”

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, at least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean a year, with plastic making up 80% of all marine debris. On top of that, 80% of marine litter comes from land-based pollution, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

On Tybee Island, at least 90% of the litter found on the beach is plastic, according to a 2019 report from Fight Dirty Tybee, the resident non-profit that conducts regular beach clean-ups.

Tybee Island Mayor Shirley Sessions said when she first moved to the island over two decades ago, she’d frequently pick up trash on the beach.

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“It became almost a habit whenever we took a walk on the beach, to take a bag to pick up trash,” she said, “When people see other people pick up trash, it encourages them … it gives them a sense of ownership, that this is where they’re from and that they should care.”

Since then, she said the public works department and local volunteer groups have ramped up efforts to keep Tybee’s beaches clean. Those efforts are much needed, she said.

Tim Arnold, president of Fight Dirty Tybee, said despite increased cleaning efforts, the volume of trash is overpowering.

“The volume of litter removed from the beach each week has continued to grow, despite a vast increase in the number of volunteers picking it up. We attribute this to a steady increase in the number of visitors during this period,” reads a 2019 report from Fight Dirty Tybee.

Tybee, as a tourist destination, is growing in popularity. Visitors to the island have increased over the years, according to city officials. On Memorial Day weekend, the town of about 3,000 residents saw around 93,000 people on the island. Annually, Tybee can receive up to 13 million visitors.

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It’s no surprise that more people leads to more litter. Lee and Gudauskus said they’ve noticed a similar pattern between the west and east coast beaches.

“On the west coast, we started in Washington, which had really pristine beaches that weren't too crowded. And Maine was a lot like that. But closer to cities like New York and Los Angeles you definitely have some pretty littered beaches,” said Gudauskus.

According to Arnold, individual efforts and isolated initiatives will not result in meaningful declines in litter — and Sessions agrees. That’s where education, awareness and good city policy comes in, the mayor said.

The city of Tybee Island recently implemented a no smoking ordinance in an effort to cut down on tobacco-related litter, which makes up a majority of trash on its beaches. Filters in cigarette butts contain plastic that ends up in the ocean and surrounding marshes.

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Although it’s too early to gauge the effectiveness of the ordinance, Arnold has pointed to other beach towns, such as Folly Beach and Isle of Palms, that have done the same and are able to keep their beaches nearly pristine.

"It can be done, it's been done elsewhere," Arnold told the Savannah Morning News.

Meanwhile, residents can participate in the community beach cleanup with Gudauskus and Lee on Tuesday at 12 p.m. on 14th Street.

For more information about the campaign visit: konabrewingco.com/whats-new/2022/06/catch-a-clean-wave-2022.

Those who are interested in participating in the event can sign up with this Google form.

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Tybee Island: Catch A Clean Wave Initiative comes to help clean beach