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Marine Debris in Hawai‘i

Quick Facts | How to Help | Web Site Resources | Recent News |
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Quick Facts
  • Marine debris is any man-made object discarded, disposed of, or abandoned that enters the coastal or marine environment.
  • Marine debris kills more than one million birds and 100,000 marine mammals each year.
  • In 2005, marine debris caused 269 boating accidents, resulting in 15 deaths, 116 injuries and $2.9 million in damage.
  • Over 563 tons of marine debris has been removed from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands since 2001.
  • The location of Hawai‘i makes its beaches and coastal waters a vast dumping ground for plastic and other types of garbage from both Asia and North America, as well as from seagoing vessels.

Tips for Reducing Marine Debris
  • Dispose of trash properly. This keeps trash from washing into ditches or streams that emtpy into the ocean.
  • Produce less trash by recycling and reusing as much as possible.
  • Try to only buy reusable or recycable material when shopping, avoid excess packaging.
  • Cut rings on plastic six-pack holders to lower the risk they will harm marine animals.
  • Pick up trash and debris (with caution!) from coastal areas.
 Volunteer
International Coast Clean up day, run by the Ocean Conservancy, takes place every year in September. This site has information about the 2007 clean up effort.

Recent Clean Up Efforts

HawaiiActive.com
Blog entry about the annual "Get the Drift & Bag It!" International Coastal Cleanup that takes place every year in September. Includes a chart on the sources of Hawaiian marine debris. May 2006 Report, NOAA Marine Debris Removal Program
May 2006 Marine Debris Report detailing removal efforts. [pdf]

Web Site Resources

 Environmental Protection Agency
EPA's Marine Debris Abatement program, with tips on how to be part of the solution for removing marine debris. Links provided to recent news and reports. Greenpeace
Greenpeace's Defending Our Oceans program, which aims to clean up ocean plastic pollution. Includes tips for helping reduce marine debris. Marine Debris Survey and Removal from the Papahanaumokuakea (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands) Marine National Monument
This site has current news, information, and maps about the ongoing effort to remove marine debris from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). National Sea Grant College Program
NOAA's Sea Grant Program partners with colleges and local, federal and state organizations to educate and reduce marine debris. Pacific Regional Marine Debris [pdf] details efforts to remove marine debris from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. NOAA Marine Debris Removal Program
Information about NOAA's Marine Debris Removal Program, with quick facts, news, photos, and projects. The Ocean Conservancy
A leading organization in the fight against marine debris. Published the 2007 Final Program Report, Data Analysis, and Summary [pdf] for a five-year research project on marine debris. Pacific U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Updates on the effort to reduce marine debris, with recent news and projects.

Recent News (2001-2007)

 Trash to Energy: Hawai‘i's Marine Debris Recycling
NOAA : 1 Feb 2007.
[Internet]
 Davy Jones' litter.
Earth Island Journal Winter 2007, p.9.
[Internet] (Article appears halfway down the linked webpage). Litter Plagues E. Oahu Beach; Glass, Construction Debris Clutter Alan Davis, Prompting Calls for Solution.
Honolulu Advertiser 12 Dec 2006. Congress Passes Key Sea Debris Measure.
Honolulu Advertiser 12 Dec 2006. Fishermen Hauling in "Ghost Nets"; Volunteers Scoop Up Ocean Debris to be Used for Free Power.
Honolulu Advertiser 22 Aug 2006. Greenpeace Research Ship to Stop in Isles; The Environmental Group Plans to Study an Ocean Area Where Garbage Accumulates.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 24 July 2006.
[Internet] Disgusting Stuff Ends Up In Ocean.
Honolulu Advertiser 24 July 2006. Needed: Better Beach Alerts; After Spills State Seeks Other Ways to Get Word Out.
Honolulu Advertiser 11 May 2006. Turning Sea Debris Into Fuel.
Honolulu Advertiser 3 Apr 2006. Project Seeks Out Marine Debris.
Honolulu Advertiser 23 Feb 2006. Giant Patch of Ocean Debris Carries Ghost Nets, Trash Onto Island Shores.
Honolulu Advertiser 13 Feb 2006. Responsible Marine Cleanup; Net Gains; A New Program Eases Disposal of Derelict Fishing Gear Found at Sea.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 14 Jan 2006.
[Internet] Tons of Trash Found On First of 4 Cleanups.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 28 Nov 2005.
[Internet] Sea Debris Shed Light on Currents.
Honolulu Advertiser 7 Nov 2005. Local Fishermen Unfairly Targeted in Preservation.
Honolulu Advertiser 20 Oct 2005. New Efforts Fight Ocean Debris; More Resources are Poured into Large-Scale Cleanups.
Honolulu Advertiser 12 Oct 2005. Moore Checks the Effect of Plastics on Marine Life.
Plastics News 26 Sept 2005, Vol. 17 Issue 30, p. 9. Senate OK's Ocean-Debris Legislation.
Honolulu Advertiser 6 July 2005. Cleanup Found 22% More Debris.
Honolulu Advertiser 21 May 2005. Mass of Lost Fishing Nets Found North of Hawaii; Researchers Found the Balls of Net and Debris are Up to 30 Feet Wide.
Honolulu Advertiser 11 May 2005. Back to the Sea for Hooked Turtle; Fishing Barbs, Line Removed from Its Flipper and Neck.
Honolulu Advertiser 3 May 2005. Inouye's Marine Debris Bill Backed by Commerce Department.
Honolulu Advertiser 22 Mar 2005. Bush Not Supporting Marine Debris Bill; Inouye Measure Seeks $15M to Help Clean Coastal Areas.
Honolulu Advertiser 17 Mar 2005. New Effort to Clean Up Trash in Sea Under Way; Mass of Debris Imperils Monk Seals, Other Marine Life.
Honolulu Advertiser 12 Feb 2005. Reef Cleanup Reveals Wreck Clues; Divers Removing Nets From a Hawaiian Atoll Find What Might be Ship Sunk Circa 1822.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 21 Oct 2004.
[Internet] Much of Our Beach Trash Not From Sea.
Honolulu Advertiser 16 Aug 2004. Marine Debris Proves to be Real Threat to Voyage.
Honolulu Advertiser 8 June 2004. Marine Debris Threatening Wildlife in Northwestern Islands.
Honolulu Advertiser 1 June 2004. Plastic Bits End Up in Marine Life's Diet.
Toloken, S. Plastics News 26 Apr 2004, Vol. 16 Issue 8, p 4-425. Trashed: Across the Pacific Ocean, Plastics, Plastics, everywhere.
Moore, C. Natural History Nov 2003, Vol. 112 Issue 9, p. 46-51.
[Internet] Laser May Help Target Ocean Trash.
Honolulu Advertiser 29 Dec 2003. Beach Had 40 Tons of Debris.
Honolulu Advertiser 20 Oct 2003. Islands in the Filthy Stream.
Friend, T. USA Today 14 Aug 2003. Debris on Northwest Isles Alarms Exlplorer (Jean-Michel) Cousteau; He Says He's Never Seen So Much Trash in 58 Years on the Ocean.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 8 Aug 2003
[Internet] Islands' Trash Shocks (Jean-Michel) Cousteau.
Honolulu Advertiser 1 Aug 2003. Plastics an Enduring Marine Hazard.
Honolulu Advertiser 14 Oct 2002. Japan Seeks to Reduce Sea Debris.
Honolulu Advertiser 8 Apr 2002. PCB Removal Under Way.
Honolulu Advertiser 27 Feb 2002. Floating Plastic Tubes a Threat to Albatrosses.
Honolulu Advertiser 3 Dec 2001. Ocean Crew Says Tons of Debris Still Pose Danger.
Honolulu Advertiser 22 Nov 2001. Tons of Debris Cleared From NW Islands.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 21 Nov 2001
[Internet] Mystery of Plastic Tubes Solved; Debris Traced to Oyster Fisheries.
Honolulu Advertiser 31 Oct 2001. Tubes Confound Marine Debris Experts.
Honolulu Advertiser 30 Oct 2001. Debris Continues to Threaten Marine Life.
Honolulu Advertiser 1 Oct 2001. Delicate Cleanup Task Begins in NW Hawaiian Islands; Tons of Old Nets are Among the Debris That Snags on the Reefs and Kills Marine Life.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 24 Sept 2001
[Internet] Derelict Nets Around Kauai to be Removed; Tesoro Hawaii Agrees to Do the Cleanup as Penance for Spilling Oil that Affected Kauai.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 24 Sept 2001.
[Internet] Fishing Debris to be Studied.
Honolulu Advertiser 13 May 2001. Pacific Cleanup Nets 24 Tons of Fishing Trash.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 13 Mar 2001.
[Internet] Children Get Televised Lesson in Ocean Policy.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 9 Feb 2001.
[Internet]

At the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center Library

Journal Articles (2001-2007)

Factors affecting marine debris deposition at French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, 1990-2006.
Morishige, C., M.J. Donohue, E. Flint, C. Swenson and C. Woolaway. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol.54 No.8, Aug 2007 : p.1162-1169.
 Marine debris collects within the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone.
Pichel, W.G., et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol.54 No.8, Aug 2007 : p.1207-1211.
 Marine debris accumulation in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: An examination of rates and processes.
Dameron, O.J., M. Parke, M.A. Albins, and R. Brainard. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol.54 No.4, Apr 2007 : p.595-597.
 Remote sensing reveals links among the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, Marine debris, and El Nino.
Donohue, M.J., and Foley D.G. Marine Mammal Science Vol.23 No.2, Apr 2007 : p.468-473.
 Quantitative analysis of small-plastic debris on beaches in the Hawaiian archipelago.
McDermid, K.J., and T.L. McMullen. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol.48 No.7-8, Apr 2004 : p.790-794.
 Eastern Pacific Ocean source of Northwestern Hawaiian Islands marine debris supported by errant fish aggregating device.
Donohue, M.J. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol.50 No.5-6, Mar 2004 : p.514-525.
 Marine debris accumulation in the nearshore habitat of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi.
Boland, R.C. and M.J. Donohue. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol.46 No.11, Nov 2003 : p.1385-1394.
 How multiagency partnerships can successfully address large-scale pollution problems: a Hawai‘i case study.
Donohue, M.J. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol.46 No.6, June 2003 : p.700-702.
[pdf] Derelict fishing gear in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: diving surveys and debris removal at two atolls confirms threat to coral reef ecosystems.
Donohue, M.J., R. Boland, C.M. Sramek, and G.A. Antonelis. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol.42 No.12, Dec 2001 : p.1301-1312.
 A Pre- and Post-MARPOL Annex V Summary of Hawaiian Monk Seal Entanglements and Marine Debris Accumulation in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 1982-1998.
Henderson, J.R. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol.42 No.7, July 2001 : p.584-589.

Books, Conference Reports & Electronic Resources (1987-2007)

Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act signed into law : announcement of legislative development.
University of Mississippi, Sea Grant Law Center. 2007.
[pdf] Marine debris module : a module for grades 4-12.
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Multi-agency Education Project. 2005.
[Internet] Marine Debris Research Prevention and Reduction Program Act : report of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on S. 362.
United States Congress. 2005.
[pdf] Marine debris of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands : ghost net identification.
NOAA, National Sea Grant College Program. 2005.
[pdf] Pocket guide to marine debris.
Ocean Conservancy. 2002.
[Internet] Assessing and monitoring floatable debris.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oceans and Coastal Protection Division. 2002.
[pdf] Proceedings of the International Marine Debris Conference on Derelict Fishing Gear and the Ocean Environment, August 6-11, 2000, Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. 2001.
[pdf] International Marine Debris Conference on Derelict Fishing Gear and the Ocean Environment, August 6-11, 2000 : issue papers.
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. 2000.
GC1081 .S6 2000 Marine debris : sources, impacts, and solutions.
James M. Coe & Donald B. Rogers, editors. Springer, 1997.
GC1081 .M36 1997 Clean ships, clean ports, clean oceans : controlling garbage and plastic wastes at sea.
National Academy Press. 1995.
[Open Book] Poster abstracts and manuscripts from the Third International Conference on Marine Debris, May 8-13, 1994, Miami, Florida.
NOAA-NMFS, Alaska Fisheries Science Center. 1995.
[pdf] Seas of debris : a summary of the third international conference on marine debris, May 8-13, 1994, Miami, Florida.
NOAA-NMFS, Alaska Fisheries Science Center. 1994.
GC1081 .F3 1994 Marine debris survey manual.
NOAA-NMFS. 1992.
[pdf] Effect of marine debris on juvenile, pelagic sea turtles : interim project report to the National Marine Fisheries Service Marine Entanglement Research Program.
Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research. 1991.
QL666.C536 B64 1991 Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Marine Debris, 2-7 April 1989, Honolulu, Hawaii.
NOAA-NMFS, Southwest Fisheries Science Center. 1990.
[pdf] Marine debris bibliography.
Hanson, M. Bradley. University of Washington, 1989.
GC1085 .H3 1989 Proceedings of the North Pacific Rim Fishermen's Conference on Marine Debris, 1987, Kalua-Kona, Hawaii.
Natural Resources Consultants. 1988.
GC1081 .N6 1987 An experimental study of derelict gill nets in the central Pacific Ocean.
Gerrodette, Tim. NOAA-NMFS, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 1987.
SWFSC ADMIN REP H no. 87-18.

Available at the Hawaii State Public Library

Tracking trash : flotsam, jetsam, and the science of ocean motion.
Burns, Loree Griffin. Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
551.462 BU. Washed up : the curious journeys of flotsam & jetsam.
Moody, Skye Kathleen. Sasquatch, 2006.
910.9146 Mo. Malama ana i ke kai = Protecting the sea.
Hawaii Sea Life Park, 1988.
Videocassette and Teacher's Guide.

Further Research

LC Subject Headings: Marine debris; Marine pollution.
LC Call Numbers: GC 1081

http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
Last updated December 06 2007