Crews hauled 47,000 pounds of debris from Papahānaumokuākea
The last voyage of a five-year cleanup pulled derelict nets and plastic from the monument and freed five entangled green sea turtles.
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The last expedition of a five-year marine-debris project is back from Papahānaumokuākea. Hawaii News Now reported on October 9, 2026, that the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project removed 47,000 pounds of debris on this voyage. More than half of it was derelict fishing nets tangled on coral. Crews also picked up nearly 3,000 pounds of plastic from shorelines and freed five green sea turtles caught in nets. The ship left Honolulu on September 14. Back on Oahu, the debris will be sorted, recycled, or incinerated.
Since 2020 the same project has removed more than 1.3 million pounds and, over that whole span, disentangled three Hawaiian monk seals, 20 green sea turtles, and other wildlife. Those longer totals are not the count from this one trip.
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