PHAs are plastics that are made by bacteria. PHAs also are eaten by bacteria.

"It's like fat," Kirk Havens says. He explained that just as vertebrates store energy in fat deposits, many bacteria synthesize PHAs—short for polyhydroxalkanoates—to store carbon and energy. An individual bacterium will draw on its little dab of polymer reserve to get through the lean days in its microscopic world, unless a bigger microorganism eats it first. Anything made of PHA will biodegrade, simply because bacteria start eating it.

Havens is one of a group of VIMS researchers working with Jason McDevitt, William & Mary's director of technology transfer, to bring products based on these biopolymers to market. The products are aimed at an environmentally conscious market that ranges from commercial fishermen to recreational hunters to the millions of people using a wide range of personal care products.

The researchers are all members of the VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management. The group includes Havens, assistant director of the center; Kory Angstadt, marine scientist; Donna Bilkovic, research associate professor; and David Stanhope, field research manager. Their interest in PHAs began with the accidental discovery of the abundance of "ghost pots" in the Chesapeake Bay.

Read the full story at William and Mary>>

Want to read more about ghost traps? Click here...