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Now Open: Public Comment
EPA is soliciting public comments on EPA’s action to add two waterbodies, Kamilo Beach and Tern Island, as impaired by trash to Hawaii's 2018 List of Impaired Waters under Clean Water Act, Section 303(d). Comments must be submitted in writing on or before August 19, 2020.
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Now Open: FY21 Marine Debris Program Removal Grant
The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce our fiscal year (FY) 2021 Marine Debris Removal notice of funding opportunity. The Letter of Intent submission period for removal projects will extend from July 15 to September 4, 2020. For more information visit grants.gov and the Marine Debris Program website.
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Social Distance Beach Cleanups
Join Surfrider Foundation to do a socially distanced cleanup. Use the hashtags #solocleanup and #socialdistancecleanup and tag @surfrider and @surfrideroahu to showcase your social distance cleanup! Visit www.surfrider.org for more on Surfrider's work. (Credit: Surfrider).
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Relocated
Mark Manuel, NOAA Marine Debris Program, Pacific Islands Regional Coordinator, has relocated to Hilo, Hawai‘i and will be working from the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center. If you have any questions please contact him at mark.manuel@noaa.gov. (Credit: NOAA).
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Sharkastics recently celebrated eight years of cleanups at Ka‘ehu (Credit: Cheryl King).
Submitted by: Cheryl King
We’d like to thank everyone who has joined us for our 4th Sunday of every month Ka'ehu cleanups for the last eight years! It has been quite a volunteer-powered effort that has involved community members and visitors alike. So far, we’ve removed 498,010 pieces of marine debris (48,501 lbs.) from this beautiful bay, and will continue to do so since it continues to wash ashore.
Learn more about Sharkastics here.
Follow the above guidelines to keep our beaches and communities free of potential PPE debris (Credit: Surfrider).
Submitted by: Lauren Blickley
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is the newest source of plastic pollution. Single-use plastic items such as gloves, masks, and sanitizing wipes are increasingly being found littered on shorelines and disrupting marine ecosystems. The Surfrider Foundation’s five Hawaii chapters developed guidelines and are raising awareness to encourage the proper disposal of PPE. The guidelines include properly disposing of PPE in the trash can, wearing gloves and other protective equipment if cleaning up littered PPE, choosing reusable PPE (like masks) when available and per CDC guidelines, and sharing findings on your social media accounts (Facebook & Instagram) by tagging #HawaiiPPEdebris.
Learn more and connect with your local Surfrider Foundation Chapter.
Follow the link below to watch Fawn present her Capstone project (Credit: Fawn Liebengood).
Submitted by: Fawn Liebengood
Fawn Liebengood recently graduated with her Masters of Advanced Studies in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. During her time at Scripps Oceanography, Fawn deepened her understanding of marine plastic pollution and prevention. Fawn volunteered with Dr. Sara-Jeanne Royer and the Deheyn Lab to study how various textile materials degrade in the marine environment and which supply chain processes alter textile degradation. Her Capstone Project, Fighting Beneath the Surface, explored how community-based marine debris cleanups can be therapeutic recreation for active duty military personnel and military veterans through Dr. Wallace J. Nichols' Blue Mind theory.
You can watch Fawn present her Capstone project here. Learn more about her business plan here.
Campers wrote letters of support to Kauai County Council in support of Bill 2775 (Credit: Surfrider Kaua'i).
Submitted by: Barbara Wiedner
Surfrider Kaua'i has been working with camps this summer. Our education team is teaching small groups of kids about protecting our ocean environment, plastic pollution, and ocean advocacy. One of these camps is Reef Guardians Hawaii - Reef Camp. Surfrider has been doing weekly presentations and advocacy activities with campers. Campers wrote letters of support to Kaua'i County Council in support of Bill 2775 (restricting the use and sale of polystyrene foam food service containers). Working with this great group of young ocean lovers always gives me hope!
Learn more about Surfrider Kaua'i.
Team member Lizzy Beato tallying up debris collected at Kam 3 (Kamaole Beach Park III) (Credit: Lizzy Beato).
Submitted by: Jens Currie
The pandemic provided the research team at Pacific Whale Foundation with a unique opportunity to study how reduced beach use and tourism impacts marine debris accumulation. The team has been conducting debris surveys on five beaches since early May and will compare these data to previous surveys on the same beaches in 2018. Visitor counts in May 2020 were down approximately 98% from May 2018 and it will be interesting to see how this drastic shift impacts the type and amount of marine debris, particularly on Maui’s leeward shores, which receive most of the land-sourced debris.
Check out Pacific Whale Foundation’s previous research on marine debris.
The State’s Protected Species Program staff member, CJ Kow (far right, front row), participated with Hawai'i Wildlife Fund staff and volunteers in a beach cleanup at Kamilo Point where they collected 866 lbs. of trash in December 2019 (Credit: M. Lamson, Hawai'i Wildlife Fund).
Submitted by: Susannah Welch
On Hawaiʻi Island the State’s Protected Species Program (PSP) – under the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources – plans to join Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund (HWF) on regular beach cleanups and net patrols in 2020. The PSP is working to mitigate potentially life-threatening hazards to endangered Hawaiian monk seals and hawksbill sea turtles, threatened green sea turtles, and other protected species. Marine debris poses a mortality risk to seals and turtles if ingested or if animals become entangled. The PSP team is excited to be collaborating with HWF to reduce the amount of trash found on Hawaiʻi’s coastlines, making them safer for marine wildlife.
Learn more about Hawai'i Wildlife Fund’s marine debris removal efforts on Hawaiʻi Island.
Learn more about the State’s Protected Species Program's other outreach efforts.
Fishing line collected from Fishing Line Recycling Program recycling bins on Maui (Credit: MOC Marine Institute).
Submitted by: Thomas Cutt
Interactions with nearshore coastal fisheries are a primary threat to sea turtles in Hawaiʻi. Entanglement in gear can cause deep cuts that may lead to possible infections, limited movement, complete loss of a flipper, or death. To decrease harmful interactions between sea turtles and discarded fishing line, MOC Marine Institute established the Fishing Line Recycling Program in June 2018.
Fishing line recycling bins are now installed at 37 high-traffic fishing locations across the island. Since June 2018, more than 20 miles of line, weights, and derelict fishing gear has been collected from bins on Maui.
Learn more about the Fishing Line Recycling Program.
Volunteers, Scott McCubbins, Lou Baron, and Nectar Nipp with their collected debris (Photo: Surfrider Kaua‘i).
Submitted by: Barbara Wiedner
Scott McCubbins of Surfrider Kaua'i committed to cleaning up a trashed coastal area during the pandemic. The coastal area between Donkey Beach and Anahola Bay has been littered with abandoned homeless camps for years. The Kaua'i Chapter works in this area regularly focusing on marine debris. Scott with a small group of helpers, usually 2-3 people, removed 29 trailers of debris, three trucks loads of tires, and an additional two trucks loads of trash. This totaled close to 60,000 lbs. of litter most of which was just yards away from the water on this beautiful coast area.
Learn more about Surfrider Kaua'i.
Girl Scout Troop #789 from Kaneohe, who also donated 22 homemade wooden sand sifters to Plastic Free Hawai‘i, participated in the July 11 Island Wide Socially Distanced Beach Cleanup (Photo: Plastic Free Hawai‘i).
Submitted by: Lisa Jeffers-Fabro
Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundationʻs Plastic Free Hawai‘i (PFH) participated in Plastic Free July 2020. PFH kicked off their campaign with a video of founders Kim and Jack Johnson, followed by an Island Wide Socially Distanced Beach Cleanup in partnership with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi on July 11, 2020. Of the 35 beach cleanups performed island wide that day, PFH facilitated beach cleanups at four North Shore locations and collected over 1,000 lbs. of marine debris. 65 community members participated in four groups and practiced safe socially distanced protocols. Additionally, PFH hosted a Plastic Free July Mini Film Festival; created and donated 50 Love Letters to the Sea Teacher Kits for Art Exploriumʻs Creative Reuse Open House; provided a socially distanced presentation at the Hawaiʻi Nature Center; and shared online resources, tips, inspiration and more all month long.
Longline fishing vessels in Honolulu, Hawaii (Credit: NOAA).
Submitted by: Mark Manuel
We are pleased to share a recent paper that was published in the journal, Scientific Reports, by NOAA Marine Debris Program’s very own Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, in collaboration with the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, and Walsh Analytical Service. The paper discusses derelict fishing gear in the Hawaii-based pelagic longline fishery grounds, using NOAA fishery observer data. This work is believed to be the first comprehensive analysis of marine debris data gathered as part of a commercial fisheries observation program, a rare, novel, and opportunistic dataset.
Learn more about the paper in the Marine Debris Program blog.
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