Not long ago, members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) set sail towards Hawaii, with one goal in mind: cleaning up the waters near these islands.
Now that their mission came to an end, they are glad to make it public news that nearly 50 tones of marine debris were removed from the natural ecosystems in this part of the world.
The 17 environmentalists who worked towards restoring the health of the coral reefs close to the Hawaiian Islands explain that marine debris is basically human-created waste that ends up floating about aimlessly: plastic bottles, plastic bags, fishing gear and other such similar things.
Therefore, the marine animals which find themselves forced to live in its midst face significant health threats.
Because Hawaiian waters are worldwide known for their biodiversity, NOAA decided that this year they were to focus on the shorelines close to the Northern islands and on the atolls.
Although similar campaigns were carried out in previous years as well, it seems that most people still do not grasp the concept of environmental protection and preservation; otherwise, it would have been impossible to collect this much marine litter.
Kyle Koyanagi, one of the people in charge of ensuring the success of this project, explains how in the past NOAA collected nearly 700 tones of debris, but that somehow trash just keeps building up once again in our oceans.
As he explains on NOAA's website, “The ship was at maximum capacity and we did not have any space for more debris.”
Interestingly enough, the marine debris collected during the campaigns is to be used to generate enough energy to power nearly 350 Hawaiian households.
Via: Massive Cleaning Up Campaign Carried Out in the Hawaiian Islands
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