Boat Pollution

    Every time a boat runs, exhaust in the engine creates pollution harmful to sea life. Exhaust contributes harmful chemicals such as hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.  Underwater exhaust directly emits these harmful chemicals and gasses into the ocean. Excess gasoline runoff from engines also creates pollution. 
    There are currently no Federal regulations limiting the amount of exhaust boats emit, but here are some ways boaters can help reduce their pollution to the ocean:

              -only turn your engine on all the way when needed

              -store gas in shaded areas, protected from the sun to eliminate air pollution

              -each year buy a new, or cleaner engine for your boat

              -limit operating your engine on full throttle

              -eliminate unnecessary idling

              -avoid spilling gasoline when fueling up

              -properly match engine horse power to vessel size

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/ocean_pollution.htm
http://www.epa.gov/oms/boat-fs.htm
http://www.suite101.com/content/reducing-marine-engine-pollution-a24811

Dumping

    Garbage dumping is the dump of human waste (including plastics) into our ocean. Waste from as far back as the 1990’s  is still in the ocean today.  Garbage dumping is a serious form of pollution that affects not only the ocean, but the rest of the world too, including ocean organisms and human health and resources.  Ocean dumping is harmful to animals because they can easily be tangled in dumped nets, or may mistake human waste for food, and often end up chocking on plastic, or strangled by some form of it.  Dumping is universally used, because its a cheap and  convenient method of garbage disposal, meanwhile its toxic wastes and non biodegradable products are causing a serious threat to our ocean.

The largest dumping site in our ocean is the Eastern Garbage Patch, aka the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California.  Garbage here is dumped into the North Pacific Gyre, which is the center of several currents, causing a swirling mass of floating trash, also described as the Pacific Trash Vortex.  Its estimated that 80% of the trash is from a land-based source, and the other 20% from ships.  Its impossible to be completely sure of just how big the patch is, but its estimated size is  up to and more than one and a half times the size of the US, and over 100 feet in depth.

http://www.pollutionissues.com/Na-Ph/Ocean-Dumping.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/10-the-worlds-largest-dump