What Is That Thing? The Giant Harbor Island Garbage Fish

MAMARONECK, NY — The giant Harbor Island garbage fish is just what it sounds like, a giant fish made out of garbage, but like the best art, the Marine Education Center's sculpture teaches us something about our world.

The giant garbage fish on the Long Island Sound shore at Harbor Island Park was created exclusively with the debris cleaned up from the nearby estuary by volunteers. The inspiration behind the educational artwork was simple, "to show the large amount of trash that becomes trapped in our waterways," according to an inscription from the garbage fish creators.

This giant garbage fish is disturbingly effective in its mission. To some, a plastic soda bottle tossed out the window on Mamaroneck Avenue might not seem like that big of a deal. However, when all the discarded cups, bottles, cans and pieces of litter make it to the fragile estuary, it's easy to see how the actions of a few can create big problems (and a massive sculpture).

You don't have to be an artist to dabble in the medium of flotsam, jetsam or marine litter. The Marine Education Center hosts regular beach cleanup days. Every little bit helps and it doesn't take long to collect enough trash to remove a giant garbage fish amount of trash from the waterways. That's one fish that is much better out of the water .