2018 Hawaii Marine Debris Action Plan Released

Posted Thu, 01/31/2019 - 09:08

The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) is pleased to share the fifth and final update to the current 10-year Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan (Action Plan). This document is the result of a productive and collaborative effort between the NOAA Marine Debris Program and regional partners, including representatives from governments, non-profits, academia, and the private sector. It includes partners’ shared goals, strategies to achieve those goals, and corresponding actions for the next two years.

For as long as marine debris has been a pervasive problem in Hawai‘i, passionate individuals and organizations have been leading their communities to tackle it. Over time the threat of marine debris has grown, but so has the number of Hawaiians that continue the important work of addressing this threat. Today, this collective effort includes dynamic education, prevention, removal, and research work throughout the islands.

Since 2010, many of these marine debris stakeholders have come together to create, and engage in, the Action Plan. The purpose of the Action Plan is to reduce the ecological, health and safety, and economic impacts of marine debris in Hawai‘i by 2020. It was designed as a living document that is updated every two years.

The 2018 Action Plan focuses on five goals:

  1. Reduce Sources of Marine Debris through Prevention

  2. Reduce the Amount and Impacts of Ocean-Based Marine Debris

  3. Support and Sustain Marine Debris Removal

  4. Increase Capacity to Address Abandoned and Derelict Vessels (ADVs)

  5. Conduct High Quality Research to Understand Marine Debris

In August, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) hosted a two-day update workshop in Honolulu. The workshop provided a time and space for partners to come together, discuss the current state of the Action Plan, and propose updates. Action plans are an MDP-facilitated effort that support regional coordination. Hawai‘i’s Action Plan was the first created in the country. Today, action plans across the United States are in various stages of creation and implementation.


The MDP is proud to be a part of the collective marine debris work carried out by state, federal, and local government agencies, and industrial, academic, and nongovernmental organizations in the Hawaiian Islands. For more information, please contact Mark Manuel, the MDP’s Pacific Islands Regional Coordinator.