#marine debris

New research from Hawai‘i Pacific University shows that entanglement in monofilament fishing gear is now the primary cause of injury for stranded Hawaiian green sea turtles.

The state divisions of Aquatic Resources and Boating and Ocean Recreation have been working together since 2021 through its Rapid Response Program to provide funding to nonprofits throughout Hawaiʻi to aid in marine debris cleanup efforts.

A team of 16 from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project removed 298,180 pounds of marine debris from the monument during three missions from April to October 2024. The removed marine debris includes 191,860 pounds of derelict fishing nets, 4,600 pounds of abandoned and derelict vessels and 101,720 pounds of plastic and other debris. The team also released four Hawaiian green sea turtles entangled in derelict fishing nets. 

Nearly 90 Hawaiian monk seals were entangled in ghost nets between 2006 and 2014 in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The Department of Commerce and NOAA recommended more than $23 million in funding to support marine debris removal and interception efforts for 13 multi-year projects across 10 coastal US states, three territories and the District of Columbia. This funding is provided by NOAA’s Climate-Ready Coasts initiative under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. 

The Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute and SHARKastics will host a collaborative reef cleanup along Sugar Beach on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 8 to 11 a.m.

A team of 12 from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project, a Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit organization, returned to Honolulu, having conducted their first of three marine debris cleanups planned for 2024. The latest mission lasted 19 days, from April 15 to May 3, with crews removing a total of 70,080 pounds of marine debris and cleaning 10.7 miles of shoreline at Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

The Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute hosts a reef cleanup at Kamaʻole Beach I on Saturday, June 1, from 9 to 11 a.m. 

At the start of 2024, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources implemented an Ocean Stewardship Fee Program to help fund projects to protect marine resources. The Aloha I Ke Kai program collects a one dollar fee from passengers and customers that board boats with commercial use permits.

As part of a beach and reef clean-up initiative, the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute has partnered with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to kick off their initial beach clean-up at Sugar Beach on Saturday, March 9, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The Unified Command operation has begun to remove burned and sunken vessels, and marine debris, from Lahaina Harbor and the surrounding waterways.

A team of freedivers from the Honolulu-based nonprofit organization Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project returned on Saturday from a 28 day cleanup expedition to the remote Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. 

Unified Command has completed the search for sunken, derelict or displaced vessels, along with associated marine debris from the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire, and has identified 78 “targets.”

Unified Command for the Lahaina fire in West Maui has established a mission to assess, remove and dispose of hazardous materials, oil discharges, marine debris and sunken or displaced vessels from Lahaina Harbor and waterways.

A team from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project, a Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit organization, returned to Honolulu on Wednesday, with 86,100 pounds of marine debris removed from shallow coral reefs and shorelines of the islands and atolls within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. 

The Marine Debris Rapid Response Hotline is meant for the rapid removal of abandoned fishing nets and fishing lines that can entangle and harm Hawaiʻi’s endangered wildlife and coral reefs. The goal of this hotline is to remove the debris before an animal can be entangled and before the net washes back out to sea, which can impact human and wildlife safety alike. The hotline can be reached at 833-4-DA-NETS or reports can be made online.

The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program and its partners were awarded $5,120,959 to address rampant marine debris issues in Hawai‘i and develop urgently needed, innovative solutions that can be shared worldwide.

An estimated $3.1 million has been allocated to The Coral Reef Alliance for the restoration and strengthening resilience of Maui Nui Reefs. Thereʻs also $804,000 allocated to the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust for the restoration of loʻi kalo at the Waiheʻe Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge on Maui.

“In addition to squid beaks, fish skeletons and other prey remains, we found at least six hagfish traps and we also found significant amounts of at least seven types of fishing net, at least two types of plastic bags, a light protector, fishing line and a float from a net. We did find a number of things in the stomach of the sperm whale that may have contributed to its death and are certainly disturbing,” said Dr. Kristi West, the Health and Stranding Lab Director.

An estimated five tons of marine debris was airlifted this morning from Kaho‘olawe to Maui, with most of it destined for recycling as “new life” products, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.