Saving Seafood

Marine debris team completes latest Papahanaumokuakea cleanup mission

September 1, 2026 — A marine debris cleanup crew has returned to Honolulu after another mission to protect the fragile ecosystems of Papahanaumokuakea.

The Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project completed its second mission of 2026 on Friday after a 21-day expedition to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The team removed 48,680 pounds of ghost nets and other plastic marine debris from Lalo, Kamokuokamohoaliʻi, Kamole and Kapou.

The mission was temporarily paused Aug. 19 as Hurricane Lala moved through the region.

Read the full article at Hawaii News Now

North Carolina State University researchers discover “fluffy net” can capture underwater microplastics

August 19, 2026 — A study recently published in Science Advances, funded by the National Science Foundation, found using a biopolymer mesh in a web-like formation – similar to that of seaweed – can capture oceanic microplastics in both freshwater and seawater environments as a powerful anti-pollution tool.

Four researchers from Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A.-based North Carolina State University’s department of chemical and biomedical engineering published the study: “Artificial Neptune balls: Superadhesive biomimetic networks for broad-size microplastics capture and removal.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Study piloting use of black soldier flies to solve Florida’s sargassum issues

August 18, 2026 — A new study by the University of Miami is trying to determine whether black soldier fly larvae could be a scalable solution to the U.S. state of Florida’s sargassum problem.

Florida’s Atlantic coast is regularly hit by “sargassum inundation events,” which cover the shoreline in massive piles of the seaweed. Researchers have determined the problem has been beginning earlier in the year, and in 2026, South Florida’s shores have been hit with a record-breaking bloom, according to the study’s authors.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NYS teachers take on microplastics with snail-inspired robot

August 11, 2026 — On a rainy morning in late July, Professor Sunny Jung asked a group of New York state schoolteachers to consider the biology of the aquatic snail.

With only one foot, the snail can move and feed, and they do it with an efficient undulating motion that can draw in particles from a distance 10 times greater than their body length.

“They are very efficient at pulling in water from the surface without sucking in the bulk fluid,” said Jung, professor of biological and environmental engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, at a workshop for New York state teachers offered by a team of researchers and staff at Cornell, New York Sea Grant (NYSG), Princeton University and the University of Michigan. Now in its second year, the program gives teachers the tools to apply Cornell research in their classrooms, with lesson plans and hands-on materials they can share with their learners.

The workshop’s lessons center on the application of Jung’s research to a problem of increasing concern: the proliferation of microplastics in waterways. Inspired by the undulating movement of the snail, Jung designed a simple robotic system that can pull surface water in and filter microplastics out. With a team of collaborators, the group put the mechanism on a robot they named Mollusca and created both lab-scale prototypes and a build-your-own version for schools.

As Jung presented the research, the wires, circuit boards, motors and many 3D-printed components of the Mollusca robots lay in disassembled piles on a back table. Before day’s end, the teachers would build the robots, test them in a kiddie pool filled with small pieces of plastic called nurdles, and troubleshoot just like students, just like researchers, turning the conference room in Upson Hall into a makeshift robotics lab.

“The Sea Grant trainings are the best I’ve ever done,” said Emily Colletta, head of the gifted and talented program at North Tonawanda Intermediate School in North Tonawanda, New York, who was attending the workshop for the second time. “They’re super interactive, and it’s always local, which makes it easier to integrate and for the kids to benefit. And they always provide us with hands-on materials we can take back to our classrooms. It’s pretty special.”

Read the full article at the Cornell Chronicle