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Recast and Recycle Contest
BoatU.S. Foundation is in search of ideas to make recycling fishing line and soft bait more efficient and accessible. The contest winner will receive $15,000. Deadline: 5/14/21
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Digital Educational Resources
Need educational resources or materials? The Marine Debris Program has free activities, videos, and more available online. Learn about marine debris and have some fun, wherever you might be, with digital debris educational resources for all ages!
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Learn more about Ordinance 19-30 in the link below.
Submitted by: Lisa Jeffers-Fabro, Kōkua Hawai'i Foundation
We need your help! On December 10, 2020, Mayor Caldwell put into effect a 90-day “Education Period” for Disposable Food Ware Ordinance 19-30 (formerly Bill 40 - one of the most comprehensive bans on food service single-use plastics) set to take effect on January 1, 2021, now beginning April 1, 2021. Learn more about Ordinance 19-30 here. We need your support now more than ever to assure Ordinance 19-30 comes to its full and timely fruition, without further hindrance. Please refer to the Statement in Response to Food Service Plastics Ban Delay & How To Support Ordinance 19-30 for more information.
Working with fishers, we are starting a project focusing on skipjack tuna (aku) diet and plastic ingestion (Credit: David Horgen).
Submitted by: David Hyrenbach, David Horgen, and Jennifer Lynch, Hawai‘i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research
Although the frequency of occurrence of marine plastic debris (MPD) ingestion in the large‐sized dolphinfish and tunas taken by the Hawai'i longline fishery is very low (< 5% of sampled individuals), MPD ingestion by smaller‐sized specimens caught with pole‐and‐line gear by commercial and recreational fishers has not been investigated. We documented three predatory fishes ingesting micro–meso (1–25 mm) MPD fragments: 85.7% albacore (n=7), 40.0% skipjack (n=10), and 12.5% dolphinfish (n=8). Albacore also ingested line and skipjack also ingested sheets. Yellowfin tuna (n=10) did not contain any MPD, probably owing to the high proportion of empty stomachs (60%). Our analyses also suggest that albacore and skipjack ingest plastic of different types and polymers. We are expanding this work to understand how differences in vertical distribution, foraging ecology, and diet influence the MPD ingested by these predatory fish species. Learn more: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.3507
Submitted by: Clifford Inn, DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation
If you are planning a cleanup and will be using any kind of watercraft (e.g., motorboats, kayaks, standup paddleboards) to aid in your operation, please remember that children 12 years of age and under are required to wear a well-maintained and properly fitted Personal Flotation Device (PFD) while on a vessel (Hawaii Administrative Rule 13-243-1). Any contrivance for transportation on the water is considered a vessel. The only exception is if the child is below deck or in an enclosed cabin and there is no threat of the child falling overboard. The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DLNR/DOBOR) also suggests that anyone working over the water (e.g., on a boat, dock, pier, jetty) also wear a PFD. DLNR/DOBOR has a limited supply of children’s PFDs, throw rings, and throw ropes to loan if any non-governmental organizations or volunteer group has need of these types of safety gear.
Contact Cliff Inn at 808-587-1972 or Clifford.G.Inn@hawaii.gov for more information.
Dead wedge-tailed shearwaters entangled in derelict fishing gear (Credit: Surfrider Foundation Kaua'i Chapter).
Submitted by: Megan Lamson, Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund, and Carl Berg, Surfrider Foundation Kaua'i Chapter
During the first two years of the Hawai‘i Nei Marine Debris Removal Partnership (October 2018 - September 2020), 45.7% of the nearly 160 metric tons recovered was derelict fishing gear. These items, especially nets and monofilament or braided lines, are especially hazardous to native wildlife due to the risk of entanglement. We conducted 664 marine debris removal activities and observed wildlife on 14% of them (93 occasions), with documented observations of 106 individual monk seals, whales, and sea turtles. Dreadfully, five marine debris entanglements were noted, including three dead animals (2 shearwaters, 1 billfish). Two live green sea turtles were disentangled from monofilament fishing line and released, highlighting the importance of our work and continued diligence to the plastic pollution problem. This Hawai‘i Nei partnership was made possible by a NOAA Marine Debris Program removal grant.
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Screenshot of the new Wildlife Sightings Reporting Form for the Hawai‘i Nei Marine Debris Removal Partnership (Credit: Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund).
Submitted by: Megan Lamson and Courtney Hurt, Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund
In October 2020, Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund created a Wildlife Reporting Google form to record sightings of marine animals in areas where marine debris removal activities occurred. Since then, we’ve received an additional 40 wildlife reports from Kaua‘i (Surfrider Foundation), Hawai‘i, and Maui cleanup coordinators, which included 13 observations of monk seals, 11 of ‘iwa (great frigatebirds), 10 'ā (boobies), 7 honu (green sea turtles), and many more species of seabirds, shorebirds, fishes, and protected species. Unfortunately, these reports also included a juvenile hawksbill sea turtle that had swallowed a hook and was trailing over five feet of line. We are inviting HIMDAP partners to add their wildlife observation data during cleanup activities throughout Hawai‘i. This form was created to help support wildlife monitoring during the Hawai‘i Nei Marine Debris Removal Partnership, made possible by a NOAA Marine Debris Program removal grant.
Polymer Kit 1.0 (Credit: Kate Dolbier).
Submitted by: Jennifer Lynch, Hawai‘i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research
In November 2020, the Hawai‘i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research (CMDR) began distributing plastic reference standards for research laboratories around the world. The CMDR Polymer Kit 1.0 offers an easy and affordable way for laboratories to obtain 22 diverse plastic polymer materials that are commonly found in the environment. The materials are in pellet, fiber, or powdered forms and come in microplastic sizes. The kit also includes attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data. It is CMDR’s hope that researchers can use the Polymer Kit 1.0 to build in-house spectral libraries, test the functionality, accuracy, and precision of instruments; design and conduct degradation, transport, and fate experiments using the materials; and/or compare data across laboratories.
Learn more.
A newly installed Fishing Line Recycling Bin at Maunalua Bay (Credit: Amy Perez, Media Evolve).
Submitted by: Lauren Chamberlain, Hawaii Marine Animal Response
Hawaii Marine Animal Response (HMAR) kicked off its Fishing Line Recycling Program in December 2020. This is an ongoing collaborative effort with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources, and the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation. So far, seven recycling bins have been installed in boat harbors and popular fishing locations across O'ahu that will be maintained by HMAR’s dedicated volunteers and staff. These sites include: He'eia-Kea Boat Harbor, Hale'iwa Boat Harbor, Kahana Bay, Ke'ehi Boat Harbor, Maunalua Bay, and Wai'anae Boat Harbor. The purpose of this program is to decrease the amount of discarded recreational fishing debris that enters the ocean in order to decrease hooking and entanglement threats which impact marine protected species and coral ecosystems.
Learn more.
Surfrider Foundation volunteers participate in the Helicopter Transport of External Cargo course offered by the Department of Land & Natural Resources (Credit: Surfrider Foundation Kaua'i Chapter).
Submitted by: Carl Berg, Surfrider Foundation Kaua'i Chapter
In order to continue Operation Airlifts, removing literally tons of marine debris from remote or inaccessible coastline, volunteers of the Kaua'i Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation underwent certification in the U.S. Department of the Interior's Interagency Aviation Training. Six of the nine volunteers that passed the online A-100 Basic Aviation Safety were able to attend the A-219 classroom and field training of the Helicopter Transport of External Cargo course offered by Bryan Buckingham of the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources. This course provided technical training and procedures for performing helicopter external load operations. Participants were given the opportunity to develop the skills to safely perform hover hookups and longline operations, via a live helicopter. Surfrider Kaua'i is looking forward to returning to areas of massive marine debris accumulation in the spring and removing more than 60 tons of debris yet again this year.
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The PMDP/USFWS field team stands atop 82,600 pounds of debris at Tern Island, within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (Credit: James Morioka, PMDP).
Submitted by: Kevin O'Brien, Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project
On November 4th, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP) returned to Honolulu from a 16-day large-scale marine debris cleanup expedition to Lalo (French Frigate Shoals), within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. PMDP collaborated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to tackle the pressing problem of hurricane debris on the largest island of Lalo, Tern Island. Since Hurricane Walaka passed over Lalo in October of 2018 as a category 3 storm, wreckage from the island's relic military infrastructure had cluttered the island, posing entrapment and entanglement hazards for honu, Hawaiian monk seals, and 22 species of seabirds. The joint PMDP/USFWS team of 11 was successful in removing 82,600 pounds of debris, which included lumber, roofing, scrap metal, cable, foam, as well as more traditional derelict fishing nets and ocean plastics.
Learn more.
Nets removed from Ka'ena through the Marine Debris Rapid Response Program (Credit: Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources).
Submitted by: Kristen Kelly and Cathy Gewecke, Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR)
At the start of October 2020, the contract for the O‘ahu Marine Debris Rapid Response Program (MDRRP) was awarded to Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii (SCH). This contract reimburses SCH for costs associated with the collection, removal, and recycling of large debris that is hazardous to protected species. The MDRRP receives real time reports through the DLNR Marine Debris Report Form and phone line (808-587-0400). Once a report of marine debris or derelict fishing net is received, SCH staff coordinate response and removal efforts. If a net is removed it is then transported to Hawai‘i Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research for sampling and analysis. All debris removed are either up-cycled or incinerated at the City and County of Honolulu H-POWER facility.
The MDRRP has been a large success as SCH has already rapidly removed three large nets identified by the DLNR DAR Protected Species Program during regularly conducted shoreline surveys. DAR hopes to expand to neighbor islands and create similar rapid response programs with local marine debris partners.
A NOAA Marine Debris Program zero waste kit (Credit: NOAA MDP).
Submitted by: NOAA Marine Debris Program
Although we are not attending in-person events right now, conferences and other large events can generate large amounts of waste from food and beverage, registration, travel, lodging, giveaways, and other activities. At the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), we recognize that environmental organizations and scientists have a particular responsibility to reduce the amount of waste generated through these events. In an article recently published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, the NOAA MDP members of the Sixth International Marine Debris Conference (6IMDC) Zero Waste Working Group, highlight our commitment to “walking the talk” by reducing waste at events and preventing potential sources of marine debris. The article reviews the 6IMDC’s zero waste initiatives and provides suggestions for other conference planners to incorporate waste reduction into their own planning efforts.
Learn more.
The articles written by partners are not the opinions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and do not imply that NOAA recommends or endorses those expressed by partner organizations. These opinions and their associated actions will be carried out by interested partner organizations and are not affiliated with NOAA or the NOAA Marine Debris Program.
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