{"id":184787,"date":"2023-10-09T16:17:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T02:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=184787"},"modified":"2023-10-09T16:17:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T02:17:34","slug":"126k-pounds-marine-debris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/10\/09\/126k-pounds-marine-debris\/","title":{"rendered":"126K pounds of marine debris removed, sea turtles rescued at Papah\u0101naumoku\u0101kea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Seven
PMDP<\/abbr> removed 126,310 pounds of marine debris from Papah\u0101naumoku\u0101kea Marine National Monument. (Photo credit: Andrew Sullivan-Haskins)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Freedivers from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP<\/abbr>) finished a 28-day cleanup expedition to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands) removing a total of 126,310 lbs of marine debris. Thirteen of the 16 team members who were involved have ties to the University of Hawaiʻi.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was PMDP<\/abbr>\u2019s second large-scale effort in 2023, with a previous expedition completed during the month of July.<\/p>\n

The team encountered seven live green sea turtles that had become entangled in ghost nets, including three adults trapped in the same net. Fortunately, they were able to free all seven turtles.<\/p>\n

\"Turtle
During seven days of diving operations at Manawai divers from the PMDP disentangled seven Hawaiian green sea turtles from deadly ghost net entanglements. (Photo credit: Andrew Sullivan-Haskins)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“If we\u2019re seeing this level of animal entanglement and mortality during just a couple of days here, you can imagine how many more of these situations go unseen during the rest of the year,” said PMDP<\/abbr> President Kevin O\u2019Brien, a 2006 东精影业<\/abbr> Mānoa graduate in zoology and RC东精影业<\/abbr> employee from 2007 to 2019. “We have an unseen problem on our hands. Out of sight, out of mind.”<\/p>\n

PMDP<\/abbr> conducts multiple annual cleanup expeditions to the remote Hawaiian islands, reefs and atolls of Papahānaumokuākea to reduce the risk of entanglement for many species of protected wildlife, to mitigate coral reef damage and minimize risk of plastic ingestion for seabirds.<\/p>\n

Removing ghost nets, other debris<\/h2>\n

Cleanups were conducted at Lalo (French Frigate Shoals), Kamokuokamohoaliʻi<\/span> (Maro Reef), Hōlanikū (Kure Atoll) and Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll). Despite visiting four locations within Papahānaumokuākea, the team\u2019s primary focus was the cleanup of Manawai, which lies nearly 1,200 miles from Honolulu. This maze of coral reefs creates a sheltered habitat for a diverse array of marine species, but also unfortunately traps a large amount of floating derelict fishing gear (ghost nets). Due to its size, at least half of Manawai\u2019s surveyable lagoon area had not been cleaned in more than 10–15 years.<\/p>\n

Of the 126,310 lbs total:<\/p>\n

\"People
To remove this monster net at H\u014dlanik\u016b volunteers assisted PMDP<\/abbr> by helping to dig out and cut-up the net over the course of three days. (Photo credit: Andrew Sullivan-Haskins)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n