Cleanup keeps trash from ocean
Seventeen volunteers took part in the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s cleanup of Maalaea Ditch on Dec. 8. They removed 60 bags of trash and an additional truckload of large items from the waterway. “This was our Christmas gift to the ocean,” said Amy Hodges, programs manager at Maui Nui. She said the ditch empties into Maalaea Bay and upcoming winter rains would have washed all of the trash into the ocean. The group cleaned up about a half a mile of the ditch. The group is a Maui-based nonprofit working for clean ocean water, healthy coral reefs and abundant native fish for the nearshore areas of Maui County.