Flotsam and jetsam

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For other uses, see Flotsam and jetsam (disambiguation).

Traditionally, flotsam and jetsam are words that describe goods of potential value that have been thrown into the ocean. There is a technical difference between the two: jetsam has been voluntarily cast into the sea (jettisoned) by the crew of a ship, usually in order to lighten it in an emergency; while flotsam describes goods that are floating on the water without having been thrown in deliberately, often after a shipwreck. Traditionally spelled flotsom and jetsom, the "o" was replaced with "a" in the early twentieth century and have since been out of common usage.

Flotsam collected on beaches on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals, over one month. Items collected were 288 miscellaneous plastic pieces, thirteen fishing floats, thirty three plastic bottles, two toys, a lightstick, thirty four bottle caps, a lighter, two balls, five shoes, three fluorescent bulbs, three regular lightbulbs, nineteen glass bottles, one metal flask, two baskets, twenty one pieces of rope, a large three foot² net ball and a large piece of styrofoam.

In modern usage, flotsam also includes driftwood, logs and other natural debris in oceans and waterways, much of which enters waterways through the action of shore surf, rain or wind. Flotsam on beaches may increase after storms due to the debris brought there from riverbanks and drainage channels being flushed out, or marine equipment (including broken docks and piers) torn loose.

Ligan (or lagan), describes goods that have been marked by being tied to a buoy so that its owner can find and retrieve it later.

Derelict is property which has been abandoned and deserted at sea by those who were in charge without any hope of recovering it. This includes vessels and cargo.

One famous recent example of flotsam occurred in the Pacific Ocean in 1992, when thousands of rubber ducks and other toys manufactured by The First Years corporation went overboard during a storm. The rubber ducks were scattered across three oceans (the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic), and many have been found; Curtis Ebbesmeyer and other scientists have used the incident to gain a better understanding of ocean currents. Similar incidents have happened, with the same potential to track currents, with containers of Nike sneakers. On November 30th, 2006, thousands of bags of Doritos chips washed up on the beach at Frisco, North Carolina. ^[1]

The differences among flotsam, jetsam, and ligan are occasionally of consequence in the law of admiralty and marine salvage. On land the distinction between deliberate and accidental loss led to the concept of Treasure trove.

Flotsam is an increasing environmental problem, particularly for marine life. Discarded fishing nets and other flotsam can entangle and drown fish, marine mammals and seabirds. Some seabirds, particularly albatross, also consume flotsam by mistake, leading to health problems.