Agencies Remove Estimated 100,000 Pounds of Marine Debris from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

On April 13, 2017, Papahānaumokuākea partners held a special event to highlight the removal of an estimated 100,000 lbs of plastic debris and derelict fishing nets from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The debris filled up 12 shipping containers - that's roughly equivalent to the size and weight of 12 school buses!

The debris was removed from the beaches and reefs of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial and Kure Atoll State Wildlife Sanctuary by NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and State of Hawai‘i teams over the past six years and stored at Midway until it could be removed to Honolulu.

This debris removal represents a collaborative partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Each year, approximately 50 tons of marine debris are removed from the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands - all of it coming from elsewhere!

See more pictures here.
Read more about marine debris threats here.
Read more about what we are doing about it here.
Read the press release.