HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Shoes, bottle caps and derelict fishing nets litter an uninhabited paradise. One of earth's great sanctuaries has been flooded with hundreds of thousands of pounds of rubbish and a Hawaii nonprofit is working to clean it up one piece at a time.
Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project is a non-profit that does large-scale marine debris cleanups at the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, stretching 1,200 miles beyond Kauai.
"It's an incredibly special and important place, both for its ties to native Hawaiian culture, but also as a sanctuary for some of our most endangered and threatened species," said Kevin O'Brien, the President & Founder of Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project. "Visiting Papahānaumokuākea is a bit like stepping back in time. The birds, fish, and other animals may have never seen a human. Seabirds will land on your head. Big Omilu may swim around your ankles while you wade by the shoreline, and you can witness all manner of National Geographic-like moments everywhere you go. But, you also see all this amazing wildlife interacting with marine debris on a daily basis, which is sobering and provides great motivation for conducting this cleanup work."
The sanctuary has a plethora of plastic and fishing gear piling up to the tune of 100,000-150,000 pounds for each mission that PMDP takes.
"Our cleanups are a bit unusual- We put together a highly-trained team of freedivers and boaters, and head out into the remote islands of Papahānaumokuākea aboard a 180-ft ship for 30 days at a time. We launch a fleet of smaller boats from the ship each morning and conduct survey and cleanup work across the reefs and shorelines with our diver team. All the debris is loaded into our boats to be brought back out to the larger ship," O'Brien said.
The islands and reefs of Papahānaumokuākea are home to 7,000 total species, 23 endangered species, 90% of all Hawaiian green sea turtles, 80% of all endangered Hawaiian monk seals, 14 million seabirds and 70% of all US coral reefs.
"Every year over 57 tons of ghost net accumulate on the reefs of Papahānaumokuākea," O'Brien continued. "Endangered Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles, and seabirds routinely die from becoming entangled in netting or die from ingesting plastic. Not only that these nets smother living coral reefs when they wash in from the open ocean."
There are numerous ways to help keep Papahānaumokuākea clean which can start with decisions made at home such as eating sustainably sourced fish and reducing plastic use.
"Anyone can support our cleanup efforts by donating to our organization," O'Brien said. "Right now we're fundraising for our planned 2025 cleanups... Every dollar you donate between now (Giving Tuesday) will be doubled up to $50K! All proceeds go directly to our cleanup campaigns."