Teams Recover 60 Tons of Debris Around Hawaii

Divers have completed the collection of 60 tons of nets and other debris from around the uninhabited Northern Hawaiian Islands, but government scientists say as much as 100 tons still remain to destroy coral and entangle rare monk seals, turtles and other ocean wildlife.

Crews on four ships spent three months under sometimes risky conditions collecting derelict fishing gear and junk left by boats plying the Pacific. The tiny islands and coral reefs that extend across hundreds of miles to Kure Atoll catch the debris carried by ocean currents.

Several government agencies and private organizations, with more than two dozen scientists and researchers, were involved in the $3-million cleanup led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

One vessel, the NOAA research ship Townsend Cromwell, returned to Honolulu with nine scientists. The three other ships were expected to return before the end of the month, said Wende Goo, education and outreach coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Services’ Honolulu laboratory; the agency is part of NOAA.

“Divers spent many, many hours actually cutting away piece by piece netting entangled on coral,” Goo said. “A lot of the debris is very harmful to the coral.”

One crew rescued a Hawaiian green sea turtle, a threatened species, near French Frigate Shoals, Goo said.

“They were able to release it alive and unharmed.”

Monk seals, birds and other creatures also could be harmed by the debris, Goo said. Some items may be ingested and others could trap the sea creatures.

The piles of debris, to be sent to a recycler, include miles of nets and fishing line, plastic containers, fishing floats, burned-out light sticks, hooks and such domestic items as laundry baskets, slippers, lightbulbs, clothes hangers and cigarette lighters.

Fishermen don’t always intentionally dump nets and lines into the sea, but they often cut nets that become entangled, or items are washed overboard during rough seas, Goo said.

The operation can be dangerous. Goo said there were encounters with sharks, and one crew member fell overboard from an inflatable boat. No one was injured.

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are generally off limits to boaters, with permits required from NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state of Hawaii for people to come ashore on any of the islands.

Scientists at the Honolulu laboratory are examining the debris to track its origins. U.S. agencies plan to work with other countries to help educate fishermen and others on responsible use of the oceans.