A winters worth of marine litter is again ready to be bagged and removed from our shorelines. But there is less than there used to be. And sometimes we find lost buoys like this one that can be resold.

A trap buoy, W3805, from Maine or Nova Scotia most probably. We get these every season, brought here by the transatlantic currents. Plenty barnacles on this one, too, it has been at sea for a long time.

A small piece, this. We often find them much bigger.

At very high tides, the sea flows over this spit, but most days it is dry and a nice campground. With plenty marine litter to clean up next day.

A few years old this, better than the previous version. The rope was obviously stuck in the little "teeth" these have on their beaks, making it difficult to feed the chick. I like the eye contact here, kind of accusing I think.

It is surprising how much litter one can bring back on a kayak.

Still frozen to the ground, it was impossible to remove this net. Seabird bycatch is serious environmental problem, and a conesrvation challenge for several species in decline. The carcasses in this trawl net are probably seagulls, species unknown. More information on bycatch here: www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/programmes/seabi...

This piece of net fit well in my kayak, once it had been cut in three.

Plastic litter really is everywhere. Along every coastline. 6 hours went into this.

Broken down over time by wave action, sunlight and temperature variatons.

Tromsø municipality has more than 1200 km of coastline. Marine litter is not evenly distributed, and long stretches have none. Still the amount of litter present is scary.

Besides rope cuttings, bottle corks are one of the most often found sorts of marine litter on this stretch of coastline.

This particular stretch was very littered, mostly with foam pieces from this buoy here: www.flickr.com/photos/snemann2/20265664051 , but also with wood and other plastic bits.

A Coke bottle case, really looking its best in these surroundings. There is no denying that it adds color to an otherwise boring colour scheme..

We started pulling at this net by hand, but soon realised that we needed more power.

There are always reusable buoys like this to be found after a winters fishing activities.

A nice spot outside Tromsø, a former farmstead, no longer in use.

Marine litter is part of these birds' everyday life. They build nests fron it, they get entangled, and they have even learnt how to floss with it?

This enormous bundle of packaging film was found on a skerry. Lost or dumped, I don't know

One of the first sunny days of 2017. What better to do than to go to sea and bring back a load of marine litter.

Probably bundled up in a sack, and then thrown overboard.

Over the years the amount on this island has been stadily declining.

The most common type of marine litter we find. These cuttings are everywhere, in their 1000's, in various stages of unravelling and breaking up, all spreading tiny pieces of plastic around.

Lost a year ago outside Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, it landed on this beach outside Tromsø, northern Norway last week, having crossed the Atlantic ocean. The owner has been found and has verified this.

Even on the remotest beaches, marine litter washes up, often traceable to release locotions far away.

ALDFG otherwise known as ghost fishing gear includes any type of fishing gear that has been abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded into the environment. We find many such large pieces of gear in my area.

Ropes of all kinds is what we find most of along our shores. In the spring they are easy to see, before vegetation takes over.

This part of a large trawlnet was knotted, and therefore probably either dumped og lost overboard from a fishing vessel. At close to 200 kg, it was a beast to get on higher, safer ground for removal.

These are released with balloons many times daily all over the world, providing important data, but once they return they become litter.

We always tell the kids to clean up after themselves. It makes it hard trying to explain why they always find stuff that other people have thrown into the ocean washed up on the shore

This plastic is used on large freezer trawlers to wrap frozen fish.

Earth day focused on plastics this year. Good choice. Use less, don't dispose of it in nature.

Voluntary litterpickers keep cleaning up our coastline, collecting huge amounts. Mostly plastic, mostly marine activities related. It keeps coming, even if the solution really is very simple: Do not throw stuff into the ocean.

Some heavy symbolicism in this, findig a deflated plastic Earth on a heavily littered beach in the Arctic.

There is little doubt about who is contributing the most to the marine litter problem in my area.

Plastic bottles, the majority of them from abroad, are one of the most common plastic litter finds along our coastline. Obviously somewhat filter corrected.

These good people, spending time along the coastline, cleaning up marine litter. They are the best.

Kayakers know the coastline well, and where to find marine litter.

Plastic rope and pieces of nets are by weight the most common litter type along our coastline. Over time even the most sturdy rope breaks down into microplastic fibres that spread.

A little pool has caught litter over time. Once there, it does not get out.

Found this two years ago - it is holding up surprisingly well. www.flickr.com/photos/snemann2/50071140162

A rare warm day in May, making this spring cleanup a pleasure.

Plastic litter providing an opportunity for this tuft og grass to grow.

Probably Canadian, from the look of it. Must have taken a southern route here, as barnacles do not survive in these waters.

A surprisingly big part of the plastic bottles and cans we find along our shoreline in the Norwegian Arctic are of foreign origin.