Marine Debris

Marine debris—human-made materials that end up in the ocean—affect nearly every form of marine life, from tiny plankton to humpback whales. Animals can mistake debris for food or become entangled in it, leading to injury or death. Beyond harming wildlife, marine debris damages habitats, poses hazards to navigation, and can carry invasive species to new places. It also has economic costs, from lost fishing gear to vessel damage.

Current Marine Debris Mission Partners

To combat marine debris and mitigate its hazards, monument partners collaborate on this removal mission every few years to clean marine debris from Papahānaumokuākea and its shores. The NOAA Marine Debris Program has been involved in this effort since the program was established in 2006, and is now supporting efforts led by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project. The following is a list of partners involved in this ongoing effort:

• NOAA Marine Debris Program
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
• Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP)
• NOAA Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP)
• Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and Co-Trustees
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS)

Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP) conducts multiple annual cleanup expeditions to the remote reefs and atolls of Papahānaumokuākea. Their work reduces the risk of entanglement for many species of protected wildlife, mitigates coral reef damage from debris, and minimizes risk of plastic ingestion for seabirds.

PMDP’s team of highly-skilled free divers and small boat operators removes an average of over 10,000 pounds of marine debris per day of operation within Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary. The majority of debris they find are derelict fishing nets, though they have also removed several derelict vessels that have been found beached within the sanctuary. Derelict fishing nets, also known as ghost nets, are large tangled masses of lost or discarded fishing nets that are typically made of plastic and routinely snag on the shallow coral reefs, smothering and breaking the living coral colonies.

The team regularly encounters marine life entangled in these nets, including live sea turtles and monk seals. The team cuts the marine organisms free, hauls the nets onto their small boats, and then brings them to the ship for transport back to Honolulu where the debris is recycled when possible or burned for power production through a nets to energy program.