Team Removes 9 tons of Marine Debris at Midway Atoll

Kevin O'Brien and Brian Yannutz remove derelict fishing gear from a reef at Midway Atoll. Credit: NOAA

A team working to survey and remove marine debris at Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands returned from its 21-day mission early on Friday, April 19, 2013. The 9-person marine debris team of NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Service Center (PIFSC) Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) removed nearly 9 metric tons (8991 kg) of derelict fishing gear, plastics and other debris items - including a fishing boat - from the reefs and shorelines of Midway Atoll in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Read more on the PIFSC blog here.