Saving Seafood

HAWAII: ‘Marine Debris Hackathon’ challenges participants to invent ocean-saving tools

June 24, 2025 — The University of Hawaii announced a new competition to develop innovative tools that can be used to cut and remove derelict fishing nets from the ocean.

The University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program and Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project launched a new “Marine Debris Hackathon” challenge, for participants to design and develop next-generation tools.

Derelict fishing gear, also called “ghost gear,” poses a severe risk to marine life and coral reefs.

Methods for ghost gear removal are often labor-intensive and limited by existing tool capabilities.

Read the the full article at Hawaii News Now

Team collects over 86,000 pounds of marine debris from Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

August 4, 2023 — Over 86,000 pounds of marine debris were cleared from the Pacific Ocean, thanks to the conservation efforts of a Hawaii nonprofit organization.

During a 30-day cleanup, a team from the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project removed the debris from shallow coral reefs and shorelines of islands and atolls along Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is home to thousands of wildlife species, many of which are endangered, and contain 3.5 million acres of coral reefs.

The 16-person team’s target areas along the island chain were the Maro Reef, Laysan Island, and the Lisianski Island. Of the total debris cleared, 57,240 pounds were removed from the Maro Reef, 16,820 pounds were removed from the Laysan Island, and 12,040 pounds from the Lisianski Island.

Read the full article at Hawaii News Now