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Volunteers work to remove debris left by Maui storm

Susan Frett, programs director with Pacific Whale Foundation, participates in a beach cleanup in South Maui on Monday, Feb. 3, following a large storm that hit the island last week. Courtesy photo

Brianna Simon, a conservation biologist and outreach supervisor for Pacific Whale Foundation, was on Sugar Beach in South Maui early Monday morning responding to a report about a fishing net on the beach.

Following last week’s storm, Simon and a crew of volunteers took the opportunity to gather together and pick up as much rubbish as they could in their two-hour cleanup.

Simon said there was a lot of debris on the beach that stretches alongside the Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge toward Kihei. From a variety of micro plastics and large plastics to toothbrushes and lost fishing gear, she and others were collecting as much litter as possible Monday morning as part of the organization’s responsibility as the Marine Debris Rapid Response group.

There are a variety of Marine Debris Rapid Response groups throughout Hawai’i that help remove items such as large nets from the local beaches. Anyone who sees such debris and is unable to remove it can call (833) 4Da-NETS (432-6387), and a team of people such as those at Sugar Beach on Monday, will help remove it as soon as possible.

“Whenever a report comes, we try to create a response team and grab it,” Simon said.

Next to Simon that morning was Maureen Brock with the Maui chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Brock was busy picking up numerous small and large plastics.

“There’s a lot of plastic,” she said. “I also saw people carrying tubing, including irrigation tubing.”

Brock said she was happy to come out and lend a helping hand for a good cause.

Brianna Simon, the conservation biologist and outreach supervisor for Pacific Whale Foundation, picks up rubbish at Sugar Beach in South Maui on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, alongside Maureen Brock with the Maui Surfrider Foundation. Courtesy photo

“One of the things we do here on island is we partner with like-minded organizations like Pacific Whale Foundation for beach cleanups and for dune restorations,” she said.

Both Simon and Brock said that most of the waste that was scattered throughout Sugar Beach had come from the ocean and was pushed up after the storm.

“Most of the plastics we’re picking up have been out at sea for a while, and they’re just now making their way here,” Simon said.

Some of the debris may have come from up mauka, Simon said, which may have made its way to the beach after the strong rain and wind from the storm.

Susan Frett, programs director with Pacific Whale Foundation, said the effort is an ongoing part of the organization’s mission.

According to the organization, Pacific Whale Foundation researchers implemented debris research in 2013 and have been documenting and removing debris from the leeward waters of Maui, Kaho’olawe, Lāna’i and Moloka’i.

In 2015, they piloted a community science program to help raise awareness and encourage public involvement in the monitoring and removal of debris from Maui beaches.

She said beach cleanups are something all people can get involved in, all they have to do is reach out.

“People can stop at our office and pick up supplies,” she said.

Learn more at pacificwhale.org/marine-debris-rapid-response-program.

Brianna Simon, the conservation biologist and outreach supervisor for Pacific Whale Foundation, walks alongside a truckload of debris that Simon and other volunteers assisted in cleaning up in South Maui Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. Courtesy photo

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