A community of freedivers only in the near previous eliminated a complete of 97,295 pounds (44,132kg) of marine debris from reefs and seashores of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Of that quantity, 86,000 pounds (39,009kg) consisted of ghost nets cleaned from a single reef, in step with the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Particles Project (PMDP), a Hawaii-essentially based entirely non-profit organization.
The reef, identified as Kamokuokamohoali’i (“island of the shark god”) or Maro Reef, lies in the coronary heart of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a string of a long way flung and uninhabited islands that get up the final 1,300 miles/2,092km of the Hawaiian island chain.
Ghost nets, that are shimmering tangled hundreds of misplaced or discarded fishing nets made of plastic, mechanically snag on the shallow coral reefs of the Hawaiian islands, smothering and breaking the residing coral colonies. One single trawl gain the team came upon at Kamokuokamohoali’i used to be came upon plastered across nearly 200 ft/61m of reef by the ocean currents and had smothered mighty of the residing coral below it. These nets moreover pose a most valuable entanglement hazard for most marine natural world, most notably the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, of which handiest 1,500 remain. Hawaiian green sea turtles (honu) and a lot of species of seabirds are moreover weak to this threat.
The team of 16 freedivers from PMDP achieve off from Honolulu on July 2 on a 27-day cleanup expedition to Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Over 12 intensive days of labor at Kamokuokamohoali’i, the team surveyed 1,100 acres/445 hectares of coral reef and efficiently eliminated 86,000 pounds of ghost nets from that space.
Based on PMDP President Kevin O’Brien:
“That’s the identical of taking a stroll thru Unique York’s Central Park and a few surrounding blocks, and finding sufficient trash there to equal the weight of a commercial commuter airliner. The reality that we’re seeing this more or much less accumulation in such a single diminutive space is on the total indicative of the scale of the world marine debris arena. Kamokuokamohoali’i is basically one of essentially the most pristine and isolated locations on the earth, and if it’s ending up here in these portions, it procedure we’ve got a neighborhood.”
Groups of divers surveyed for nets by swimming search patterns over the reef. When a gain used to be came upon tangled in the coral, the divers carefully lower the gain free from the reef to lend a hand a long way from additional damage, and hauled them by hand into Zodiac inflatable boats launched from the mothership. Nets fluctuate in size, but can mechanically weigh upwards of 2,000 pounds/907kg every. All elimination work used to be done the exercise of breath-lend a hand diving ways to lend a hand the team instant and nimble.
PMDP Executive Director James Morioka stated:
“An estimated 115,000 lbs of marine debris accumulates on the reefs of Papahanaumokuakea one and all year, and if PMDP isn?t cleaning it up, no person is. PMDP’s subsequent neat-up mission is in September, with the goal of inserting off one other 100,000 lbs. It?s our goal at PMDP to continue usual neat-up efforts into the future to lend a hand coral reef successfully being and defend endless animals from entanglement and doable harm or death.”
Besides to to what used to be serene from Kamokuokamohoali’i, the PMDP expedition moreover cleaned up an additional 11,000 pounds/4,990kg of nets and plastics from the shorelines of two other island locations: Kamole (Laysan Island) and Kapou (Lisianski Island).
PMDP Team Lead Namele Naipo-Arsiga stated:
“I’ve fallen in love with Papahanaumokuakea. There would possibly well be now not a other space enjoy it. And it’s fairly easy, whereas you like a neighborhood and it has woven itself into your coronary heart, your body lunges to the work calling to be completed.”
Due to the “Nets to Vitality” partnership with Schnitzer Metal Company and Covanta Vitality, a majority of the debris will doubtless be incinerated and grew to develop into into energy for powering hundreds of Oahu homes. Nonetheless, earlier than incineration, recyclable plastics will doubtless be achieve aside for PMDP’s local pupil-led ocean plastics recycling project.
