2024-04-16 23:00:06
Thanks to the efforts of Harbormaster Madeline Jividen and her staff, CIC North achieved Platinum Level Certification with the Ohio Clean Marinas Program. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)
BY SHERI TRUSTY
CIC Harbormaster Madeline Jividen installed a Seabin, a debris collection device, at the CIC marina last summer. This glass holds just a few of the things the Seabin has pulled from Lake Erie. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)
When Madeline Jividen became a harbormaster at Catawba Island Club (CIC) North in January, 2020, she set her sights on taking the marina to an even higher level of excellence. Although CIC North was among the first wave of marinas to earn certification with the Ohio Clean Marinas program in 2006, Jividen wanted to earn the program’s top platinum certification.
This year, she did.
By implementing best management practices, CIC North earned Platinum Level Certification with the Ohio Clean Marinas Program. The program was developed by Ohio Sea Grant in partnership with several sponsors, including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Certification is earned through an innovative approach to establishing a healthy marina that protects Lake Erie.
One element of Jividen’s plan included the installation last July of a Seabin, an electronic marine debris collection device that pulls natural debris and manmade trash from the lake. It does not harm marine life.
“It’s like a pool skimmer,” she said. “We’re one of the few marinas on Lake Erie in Ohio to have a Seabin.”
The Seabin pulls a variety of objects from the lake, including plastic bottle caps, spent shotgun shells and plastic wristbands. The investment of time and effort to manage a Seabin is worth the benefits to the environment, Jividen said.
“It has to be checked multiple times a day, but it makes a big difference,” she said. “It’s a good investment if you want to clean your marina.”
The Ohio Clean Marinas guidebook lists several areas a harbormaster must address to earn certification, including vessel maintenance and repair, fuel management, and working with boaters.
In addition to the installation of the Seabin, Jividen implemented several best management practices, including educational programs, a fishing line recycling project and involvement with The Great Global Nurdle Hunt. Nurdles are microplastic pollutants that come in the form of small plastic pellets. The pellets are manufactured by the plastics industry and are used to produce nearly all plastic products.
“There are no regulations on them,” Jividen said. “They float and look like fish eggs, so they are eaten by birds and turtles.”
Nurdles found by Jividen and her staff in the Seabin or through physical hunting of them along the shore are reported to The Great Global Nurdle Hunt organization for research purposes. She also uses them to make earrings, where they serve as a visible, educational conversation starter.
Guests have the chance to view the CIC marina during the Progressive Catawba Island Boat Show on April 26-28. The event will feature vendors, live music, food trucks, a Meet the Fleet event for kids and a boat sale.
“There will be tons of boats in the water for sale,” Jividen said. “We’ll have a lot of vendors.”
For more information on CIC, visit www.cicclub.com.
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