Marine Debris in Hawaii

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Marine Debris in Hawaii
Capitol Hill Ocean Week 14 June 2006

Mary J. Donohue, Ph.D. University of Hawaii Sea
Grant College Programdonohuem_at_hawaii.edu
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Outline

• The Problem
• Impacts
• Mitigation
• Science
• Challenges
• Recommendations

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Marine Debris Movement

• Oceanic currents atmospheric winds North
  Pacific Subtropical Gyre
• Subtropical Convergence Zone
• (Kubota 1994, Ingraham and Ebbesmeyer 2001,
  Donohue et al. 2001, Timmers et al. 2005)

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Marine Debris Impacts

• Degraded Aesthetics
• Navigational Hazard / Vessel Damage
• Wildlife Ingestion
• Wildlife Entanglement / Ghost Fishing
• Habitat Damage
• Alien Species Vector

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Degraded Aesthetic Value
Images courtesy NOAA Fisheries
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Navigational Hazard / Vessel Damage
Courtesy Environment Canada
Courtesy WESPAC
Courtesy WESPAC
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Wildlife Ingestion
Harmful effects

• Intestinal blockage
• Starvation
• Death

• Decreased food consumption
• Loss of nutrition
• Internal injury

Courtesy NOAA Fisheries Service
Courtesy UH Sea Grant
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Wildlife Entanglement
Courtesy NOAA Fisheries Service
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Ghost Fishing

• Commercial fish shellfish stocks up to 30 of
  landings (Laist 1996)
• 50 of CA derelict lobster traps actively fishing
  (Gilardi, Pers. Comm.)
• Ghost catch of octopus in Kyushu, Japan
  commercial landing (200 - 500K animals)
  (Matsuoka, Pers. Comm.)

Courtesy NOAA Fisheries Service
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Habitat Damage
Courtesy NOAA Fisheries Service
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Diadumene lineata
Introduction of Alien Species
Invasive sea anemone found on net at Pearl
Hermes Atoll, 2000
(Zabin et al. 2004, Godwin, Pers. Comm.)
Courtesy NOAA Fisheries Service
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Selected Hawaii Marine Debris Projects

• Debris removal Waiohinu - Ka Lae Coast, Hawaii
  Island
• Debris removal - main Hawaiian Islands
• Honolulu port reception recycling program
• Get the Drift and Bag It Beach Cleanup (TOC)
• Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Multi-Agency Marine
  Debris Removal

Funded by NOAA ORR Marine Debris Program The
Ocean Conservancy annual beach cleanup
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Northwestern Hawaiian IslandsMulti-Agency
Marine Debris Cleanup
1998-2003

Courtesy NOAA Fisheries Service
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Tow Survey
Net Removal
Net Analysis
Net Haul
On-loading
Courtesy NOAA Fisheries Service
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Kure Atoll
Survey tracks and debris recovery locations
Courtesy National Ocean Service
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Debris Recycling

• 100 tons of derelict fishing net
• 552 barrels of oil
• 323,019 KwH
• 43 homes/year
• US 50,000

Schnitzer Steel Hawaii Corporation (formerly
Hawaii Metals Recycling), City County of
Honolulu, Covanta Energy Wigg, Pers. Comm.
Courtesy NOAA Fisheries Service
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Science Informing Policy
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NWHI Fishing Net Marine Debris,1998-2002
N 3979
EPO Tuna FADs?
(Boland and Donohue 2005, Donohue et al. 2001,
Timmers and Donohue 2000, Donohue 2005)
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Debris Analysis
Twisted Knotted
Twisted Knotless
Braided Knotted
Braided Knotless
Double Stranded
Multi-panel Trawl
Courtesy NOAA Fisheries Service
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(No Transcript)
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Debris Analysis Monofilament Gill Net
80 140 mm Mesh Size Salmon Squid
N 198
(Timmers and Donohue 2000)
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Oceanography/Remote Sensing
(Donohue and Foley, in review)
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Monk Seal Entanglements 1982-2004
EL Niño
(Henderson 2001, Donohue and Foley, in review)
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Biweekly marine debris deposition and El Niño at
French Frigate Shoals, 1990-2006


P lt 0.05
(Morishige et al., Pers. Comm.)
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Debris Accumulation
(Boland and Donohue, 2003)
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Challenges

• Polluters transfer costs
• Economic and ecological costs
• International scope
• MARPOL Annex V
• Enforcement

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Recommendations

• Expand international / industry participation
• Source identification
• Economic analyses of impacts
• Scientific studies of impacts
• Maintain removal efforts
• Expand recycling
• Expand outreach / education

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Thank you

• For additional information
• UH Sea Grant www.soest.hawaii.edu/seagrant
• Mary J. Donohue donohuem_at_hawaii.edu

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Northwestern Hawaiian IslandsMulti-Agency Marine
Debris Cleanup Partners

• National Marine Fisheries Service
• Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef
  Ecosystem Reserve
• Pacific Sea Grant College Programs
• Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program
• US Coast Guard
• US Fish Wildlife Service
• Hawaii Metals Recycling/ Schnitzer Steel Hawaii
  Corporation
• Horizon Waste Services, Inc.
• City County of Honolulu
• US Navy
• Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management
  Council
• US State Department
• Natural Resources Consultants, Inc.
• Hawaii State DLNRHawaii Audubon Society
• Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine
  SanctuaryHawaii Ocean Safety TeamThe Ocean
  ConservancyOcean Futures SocietyHawaii State
  DBEDTCovanta Energy
• Any omissions unintended

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References

• Boland, R. and M.J. Donohue. 2003. Marine debris
  accumulation in the aquatic habitat of the
  endangered Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus
  schauinslandi an impediment to species recovery?
  Marine Pollution Bulletin 46(11)1385-1394.
• Donohue, M.J., 2005. Eastern Pacific source of
  Northwestern Hawaiian Islands marine debris
  supported by errant fish aggregating device.
  Marine Pollution Bulletin 50(6)886-888, doi
  10.1016/j.marpolbul.2005.05.003.
• Donohue, M.J., 2003. How multi-agency
  partnerships can address large-scale pollution
  problems a Hawaii case study. Marine Pollution
  Bulletin 46(6)700-702. Invited manuscript.
• Donohue, M.J., R. Boland, C.M. Sramek, and G.A.
  Antonelis. 2001. Derelict fishing gear in the
  Northwestern Hawaiian Islands diving surveys and
  debris removal at two atolls confirms threat to
  coral reef ecosystems. Marine Pollution Bulletin
  42(12)1301-1312.
• Donohue, M.J. and D. Foley. In review. Remote
  sensing links Hawaiian monk seal conservation,
  pollution and El Niño. Marine Mammal Science.
• Gilardi, K. Personal Communication.
• Godwin, S. Personal Communication.
• Henderson, J.R. 2001. A pre- and post-MARPOL
  Annex V summary of Hawaiian monk seal
  entanglements and marine debris accumulation in
  the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands 1982-1988.
  Marine Pollution Bulletin 42(7)584-589.

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References

• Ingraham, W.J. Jr. and Ebbesmeyer, C.C. 2001.
  Surface current concentration of floating marine
  debris in the North Pacific Ocean 12-year OSCURS
  model experiments. In Proceedings of the
  Internationl Conference on Derelict Fishing Gear
  and the Ocean Environment, 2001. Hawaiian Island
  Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
  Publication.
• Kubota, M. 1994. A mechanism for the accumulation
  of floating marine debris north of Hawaii.
  Journal of Physical Oceanography 24, 1059-1064.
• Laist, D.W. 1997. Impacts of marine debris
  entanglement of marine life in marine debris
  including a comprehensive list of species with
  entanglement and ingestion records. In Marine
  Debris Sources, Impacts, and Solutions, eds. J.M.
  Coe and D.B. Rogers. Springer-Verlag, New York,
  Inc. pp.99-139.
• Matsuoka, Tatsuro. Personal Communication.
• Morishige, C. Personal Communication.
• Timmers, M.A., C.A. Kistner and M.J. Donohue.
  2005. Marine debris of the Northwestern Hawaiian
  Islands ghost net identification. University of
  Hawaii Sea Grant College Program publication.
  UNIHI-SEAGRANT-AR-05-01.

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References

• Timmers, M and M. Donohue, 2003. Identifying
  putative fisheries from derelict fishing gear
  recovered in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
  Pacific Congress on Marine Science and Technology
  International, Sixth Regional Symposium PACON
  2003 Ocean Capital Year. Kaohsiung, Taiwan
  Jun. 29 Jul. 2, 2003
• Wigg, H. Personal Communication.
• Zabin, C.J., J.T. Carlton and L.S. Godwin, 2003.
  First report of the Asian sea anemone Diadumene
  lineata from the Hawaiian Islands. Bishop Museum
  Occasional Papers, Records of the Hawaii
  Biological Survey for 2003, Part 2 54-58.