SIMCoast aims to integrate the needs and concerns of local communities, industries, and state agencies into all project components. Below are the project outcomes that we currently foresee being applicable to our partners, though these are likely to evolve over time as we gain a better understanding of local priorities. Through close collaboration and engagement with stakeholders, SIMCoast will maintain transparency and receptiveness throughout the research process.

 

Watershed communities:

The interests and concerns of local communities will drive all aspects of SIMCoast research. Our team will investigate the presence of microplastics in geographic areas that community members value, and our forecasting tools will yield actionable information about when and where these pollutants are likely to accumulate. In doing so, these findings will set the groundwork for more effective pollution reduction efforts within these high-priority regions. Fish and shellfish species that community members catch, consume, or care about will also be prioritized in our sampling efforts so that we can better understand how microplastics are impacting these focal species. Opportunities for community members to participate in the research process, such as collecting and analyzing water samples for microplastic presence, will be embedded throughout the project. 

 

Industry leaders:

SIMCoast researchers will engage with a variety of businesses and industry partners throughout Rhode Island. By modeling the presence and movement of microplastics throughout Rhode Island waters, our spatial tools will enable local industries to showcase the impact of their existing mitigation efforts and track their ongoing improvements over time. These efforts will also shed light on how different types of microplastics behave in the aquatic environment. Our sampling efforts, which will examine the presence of microplastics in the environment and within fish and shellfish species, will be tailored to address the interests and concerns of industry partners. By engaging with businesses throughout the research process, SIMCoast researchers will ensure that the outputs of this project provide industry partners with useful and relevant information.

 

State agencies:

SIMCoast researchers hope to collaborate with state agency partners to strengthen and coordinate our environmental sampling efforts and expand Rhode Island’s capacity to comprehensively address the issue of microplastic pollution. Our microplastic sampling and modeling efforts will target geographic areas of high priority to state agencies, yielding actionable information about when and where microplastics are likely to accumulate. These efforts will also highlight the ways in which microplastics are impacting local wildlife and focal seafood species. The results of this project will be translated into a manner that supports ongoing policymaking processes surrounding plastic use, reduction, and pollution mitigation efforts across the state.