Hawaii Removes 125
Tons of Marine Debris
October 13, 2005 — By Associated Press
HONOLULU — Teams led by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service collected
more than 125 tons of debris in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands last
year, up from the 5 tons they gathered in 1996.
"Certainly, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, we're catching up in a
significant way," said Rusty Brainard, chief of the Coral Reef Ecosystem
Division at the NOAA office in Honolulu.
"We're collecting more than continues to (build up). But we estimate it
is accumulating at 40 tons a year. The moment we stop, we start falling
behind."
Much of the debris comes from commercial fishing boats, but some also
washes into the ocean from land.
Some of it can be destructive. Nets catch and kill marine life while
heavy trawling gear washes through lagoons and rips up coral reefs.
Authorities say they want to intercept debris while it's still at sea.
The buildup moves with the currents. Most of the debris usually flows to
the northernmost islands of the archipelago. In El Nino years, the
currents take the debris south to beaches in the main Hawaiian Islands.
An estimated 40 tons of marine debris -- from ropes and plastic bottles
to medical waste -- washes up on Hawaiian reefs and beaches each year.
Source: Associated Press |