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Now Open: 2022 Hawaiʻi B-WET Competition
The 2022 Hawaiʻi Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program is now accepting applications through February 25, 2022. Projects under this funding announcement should support the direct implementation and/or planning of Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences.
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Parley AIR Station Sunset Session Christmas buoy painting event (Photo Credit: Will Jenkins).
Submitted by: Nicholas Schippers, Parley for the Oceans
In 2021, the Parley AIR Station at Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawai‘i engaged over 7,500 individuals through education and awareness on critical ocean issues. Each visitor to the AIR Station learned tangible actions to take home and share with their communities to tackle plastic pollution and climate change.
With many new projects on the horizon, we want to take a moment and reflect on the awesome sessions we were able to host in 2021. One of the standouts was our holiday buoy painting session where we upcycled recovered fishing buoys from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and turned them into Christmas ornaments! Events like this are key for inspiring meaningful discussion and engagement around the plastic pollution issue. In 2022, we hope to see more visitors at the AIR Station and inspire more action. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Hagfish trap project flyer (Photo Credit: Surfrider Foundation Hawai‘i Region).
Submitted by: Lauren Blickley, Surfrider Foundation Hawai‘i Region
Surfrider Foundation's North Pacific Hagfish Trap Project continues to collect and catalog traps across Hawaiʻi. In 2021, citizen scientists reported 193 traps, with the majority (169) on Oʻahu. Surfrider Foundation cleanups and partners SHARKastics, Pulama Lanaʻi, Plastic Pickers in Paradise, and Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund contributed another 3,200 traps (2,300 Lānaʻi, 100 Hawaiʻi Island, and 800 Kauaʻi). We've been working to refine our trap catalog with assistance from high school senior Ellie Shapiro. The trap catalog will allow us to quickly identify and categorize each trap and assist in determining the origins of each trap. Through our research and partnership with OSEAN, a Korean nonprofit organization, we further discovered that these traps are widely used in Asia to catch conger eels - even more so than hagfish. Dr. Carl Berg presented the project in December at the Ocean Monitoring virtual conference. Please continue to report traps to hagfish@surfrider.org.
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Students get excited for their snorkel lessons! (Photo Credit: Emily Greene, Hawai‘i Marine Animal Response).
Submitted by: Emily Greene, Hawai‘i Marine Animal Response
In December, Hawai'i Marine Animal Response partnered with KidZArt Windward and Aaron's Dive Shop to hold a Christmas art camp focusing on marine life. During this camp, students ages 6-10 participated in a beach cleanup, learned about marine debris through art and hands-on lessons, and got to experience diving for the first time. Using microplastics from the cleanup, students learned about the longevity of plastics in the marine environment and made art with the plastic pieces. Students also received lessons about Hawaiian monk seals and sea turtles including information on life cycle, habitat, diet and threats. One of the biggest threats to both species is derelict fishing gear, which we discussed and brainstormed potential solutions. This combination of art, education, and action was a great hands-on experience for all!
Art of Trash & Trashion Show 2022 Poster (Photo Credit: Mālama Maui Nui).
Submitted by: Annalea Fink, Mālama Maui Nui
Hosted by Mālama Maui Nui, the Art of Trash Exhibition and Trashion Show are annual, juried events that inspire community members to reimagine our resources, such as previously used materials, as elements for creative inspiration. All pieces are original work made from recycled and/or reused material. This year's Art of Trash Exhibition and Trashion Show will be virtually showcased in April at MalamaMauiNui.org/ArtOfTrash. For more information, submission rules, and to view last year's event, visit MalamaMauiNui.org/ArtOfTrash. Interested in submitting next year? Sign up for Mālama Maui Nui's E-newsletter at MalamaMauiNui.org.
Júlia Schubert and Alondra Islas displaying plastic items retrieved from gastrointestinal tracts of skipjack tunas captured off the Windward shore of O‘ahu (Photo Credit: Pelagicos Lab).
Submitted by: Alondra Islas Vazquez and Júlia Schubert, Hawaiʻi Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research
Aku (Katsuwonus pelamis) is a medium-sized tuna caught by recreational and commercial fishers locally. A previous assessment revealed significantly higher incidence of plastic ingestion (40% frequency of occurrence) in 10 smaller-sized (45 – 47 cm fork length) pole-caught fish around O‘ahu, compared with 29 larger-sized (68 – 76 cm fork length) longline-caught fish, which had not ingested any plastic. Building upon these findings, we are investigating ontogenetic differences in microplastic (> 0.5 mm) ingestion by Aku spanning in size from 40 to 84 cm. The dissection of 121 stomach contents revealed that only three (2.5%) of the fish had ingested plastic, with each containing a single item. To date, ongoing sorting of the intestines has documented a higher incidence, with 6.5% of the fish (3 of 46) containing plastic and a total of five debris items.
Students sorting marine debris collected at a beach in Kailua, Hawai‘i (Photo Credit: Lisa Jeffers-Fabro).
Submitted by: Lisa Jeffers-Fabro, Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation
Kōkua Hawai‘i Foundation’s 2021-2022 Plastic Free Hawai‘i School Mural Contest is now open to Hawaiʻi students and school groups grades K-12. This year's theme is INNOVATION. Create a mural that showcases how innovation can have a positive impact towards solving plastic pollution using bottle caps, marine debris, and other found objects via a beach cleanup, campus cleanup, waste audit, or a recycling drive! The winning group will receive a water refill station for their school and a virtual presentation from Upcycle Hawaiʻi. Check out more mural making tips from Kalāheo Elementary at bit.ly/muralhowto. **Deadline to apply is February 25th! For more details and our 2021-2022 School Mural Contest flier please visit this link. Mahalo and Happy New Year!
Flyingfish (Cheilopogon cyanopterus) specimen recovered from a red-footed booby regurgitation at Ulapa‘u Crater, O‘ahu (Photo Credit: Sarah Donahue, Hyrenbach Lab Group).
Submitted by: Zak Bramble, Katy Shaw, Rachel Sandquist, and Kellie Teague, Hawai‘i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research
Flyingfishes (family Exocoetidae) are abundant mid-level consumers and important prey for tropical cetaceans, seabirds, and predatory fishes. Moreover, these epipelagic species may play a key role in the trophic transfer of microplastics to mahi-mahi and tunas. A new research project at the Hawai‘i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research (CMDR) will assess microplastic ingestion by flyingfish species common in the diet of red-footed boobies (Sula sula) nesting at Ulupa‘u Crater on O‘ahu. As part of this study, sieved gastrointestinal tract contents will be digested using protocols developed at CMDR for reef fishes and adapted for application to epipelagic secondary consumers. The digested contents will be analyzed to quantify the frequency of occurrence and abundance of microplastics, and to characterize the size and polymer composition of the retrieved debris.
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Children engaging in an outdoor marine debris presentation (Photo Credit: Surfrider Foundation Kaua'i Chapter).
Submitted by: Barbara Wiedner, Surfrider Foundation Kaua‘i Chapter
In 2021, Surfrider Foundation Kaua‘i Chapter educated over 1,000 keiki on the problem of marine debris via interactive presentations and games. Students learned about gyres, plastic pollution, ghost nets, citizen science, and the importance of collecting data. We also discussed solutions such as refusing single-use plastic and other consumer options which are better for the environment.
These presentations were held at schools, camps, youth groups, and as part of field trips in outdoor classrooms. Surfrider led 12 youth beach cleanups that included sorting and weighing all items collected. We reached students in all grade levels K-12th grade.
- 57 - Youth educational and interactive presentations
- 54 - In-person presentations and three online
- 1,032 - Kids educated
- 12 - Youth cleanups
Submitted by: Erin Murphy, Arizona State University
Erin Murphy, a 4th year Ph.D. candidate from Arizona State University, will be visiting Hawai‘i from March 7th to April 4th to collect data for her dissertation. She is developing a high-resolution model to estimate Hawai‘i's annual marine plastic pollution emissions and evaluate the efficacy of interventions in reducing emissions. She is hoping to collaborate with local organizations, conduct interviews, and do fieldwork while she is there to better estimate model parameters and learn about interventions that organizations are hoping to implement by 2030. If you are interested in this project, please email her at elmurph1@asu.edu.
Debris scattered across Kamilo Beach on Hawai'i Island (Photo Credit: Hawai'i Wildlife Fund).
Submitted by: Mark Manuel, NOAA Marine Debris Program
The NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to share the 2021 Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan. It represents a partner-led effort to guide marine debris actions in Hawai‘i for the next ten years. Local litter and Pacific Ocean currents that carry marine debris to Hawai‘i from afar have been and continue to be major problems in the islands. However, there is a dedicated marine debris community in the islands that lead by example and persistence, and a long history of community-led environmental stewardship has laid the foundation for the Action Plan. This document is the result of a collaborative effort between the Marine Debris Program and partners across Hawai‘i, including federal, state, and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, industry, and academia.
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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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