About the Program
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Debris Removal in Monk Seal Habitat
Pacific Region; 2005
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) are home to endangered Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles, seabirds, and a near-pristine coral reef ecosystem. Due to the islands’ location in the North Pacific gyre, these marine species and ecosystems are threatened by marine debris which accumulates there. Most of this debris consists of derelict fishing gear, which can entangle and severely injure or even kill wildlife. French Frigate Shoals is one of the largest reef structures in the NWHI. It is the main nesting ground for the Hawaiian green sea turtle, is home to more than a third of all endangered Hawaiian monk seals, and supports the greatest variety of coral species in the NWHI.
This project consisted of marine debris removal from French Frigate Shoals through a collaboration among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Coral Reef Ecosystem (CRED) and Protected Species Divisions (PSD) of NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.
CRED conducted land debris removal operations cooperatively with PSD personnel and USFWS staff, as well as collected debris on reefs, removing over 19 tons of derelict fishing nets from endangered monk seal and threatened green sea turtle habitat at French Frigate Shoals. Survey and removal efforts were concentrated at High Entanglement Risk Zones (HERZ) in the NWHI, and survey data collected from the Accumulation Rate Sites supplied integral baseline data for planning future NWHI survey and removal efforts.
Photo courtesy of R. Boland, NOAA Fisheries Service.
This program is funded through NOAA's Ocean Service, Office of Response & Restoration, Marine Debris Program.
