By ODA Hawai’i Island Chapter Leader Sarah Milisen
I'm not sure if it's just Kona, or Big Island, or deeply rooted in Hawaiian culture, but the sense of community here is like nothing I have experienced anywhere else. People look out for each other, the land, and the sea. People help others, provide for strangers, and lend a hand where needed, with nothing to gain in return. Neighbors share fruits, veggies, or even their Costco purchases, as if everything here were in abundance, to prevent the weighing impacts of high prices and cost of living out here. The same goes for the sea. Friends share fish they have speared, and boats are offered when a call to action comes into play.
That's exactly what happened over the last weekend of 2025. I got not just one, but two "tips" for marine debris floating entanglement hazards on that Saturday afternoon, the 14th of December. One huge, draping net and floating mass off Waikoloa that a whale watch boat reported to ODA, and then a smaller yellow floating mass over by Keahole point, later that afternoon. Definitely not the same two objects, by size, location and description, which meant that we might be getting some currents pushing debris into this area. I put a call out on socials for a boat or volunteers for the next day (Sunday), and our other ODA volunteers rallied by asking their contacts. Low and behold, a boat out of Kawaihae was offered for 9am the next morning, and another volunteer and I were ready to dedicate their Sunday to net retrieval.
I grabbed our new ODA response truck (THANK YOU, AMAZING DONORS!!!) and supplies for the mission, and ventured North. Once we boarded, I put in our GPS point for the larger, purse seine tuna net that was drifting in 400 feet off Waikoloa. We got to the point, expecting the net to have dragged and snagged onto the bottom (yes, even in 400 feet; it was reported to be HUGE), but no net in sight. We started search patterns, only to get distracted by a sleek hammerhead shark cruising around the depths! After our quick distraction (as I like to say, "Hey! Get back to work!") we continued our search and found a large floating green net chunk, most likely a piece from the larger debris report. We pulled up the net after a quick dip to admire the 30+ huge Mahi Mahi schooling around it.
While continuing our fruitless search pattern, ANOTHER report came in of a FAD floater off Kiholo bay, by yet ANOTHER ODA set of volunteers. They happened to be on the beach watching over a monk seal that was snoozing on the sand. She sent a pin with the GPS location, and we decided to run back to the harbor to offload our 500-pound net before picking up another one. Our truck easily pulled the net off the boat and up the ramp (thank goodness we didn't have to do that!) and we ventured back out for the next net haul, which we assumed was the other part of the Waikoloa one reported.
To our surprise, this net bundle was intentionally anchored into the sand. We pulled up this bundle and fresh anchor, and I was surprised at the small amount of rope bundle compared to the video I was sent. We then had a snorkeler swim out to us and told us that they anchored the floating debris into the bay to pick up later, as they were unable to retrieve it all on board with their guests. They found this floating mass off Keahole! It was the OTHER debris that was reported to me yesterday! Whoa! We returned her fresh anchor and line and headed in with the FAD debris.
This type of debris (floating nets, FADs, and rope bundles) poses a HUGE hazard to ocean creatures, and humans. Not only is it a "prop killer" for boats, rendering them useless and “dead in the water”, but both of these floating nets and lines are entanglement hazards for the endemic Hawaiian monk seals, turtles, dolphins, and the humpback whales currently in their protected breeding grounds.
Just last year ODA was asked by NOAA to remove traps and ropes that had entangled a whale. When the Whale Entanglement Team successfully removed all that gear, they were not able to haul up the gear due to its weight. That gear was poised to catch another whale, so we were happy to fulfill their request and removed it 2 days later.
ODA Cleanup Crew with their "Catch of the Day"
Here in Hawai’i, we have whale entanglement response boats, thoroughly trained to respond to these threats, after they become the whale's (or other mammal's) now life-threatening problem. ODA strives to remove these hazards BEFORE it becomes a problem, and the sense of community that rises up to this occasion is insanely incredible here. From not only the reports from ocean-goers, sending out the initial details and call for help, but to the volunteers willing to spend their Sunday hauling stinky, heavy, scratchy nets out of the water and into appropriate bins, and to the boat owners, offering their fuel, man hours, boat maintenance, and vessel for these ODA missions literally gives me chicken skin when I think about it. How amazing this community is, I am unable to convey in words, but I hope this shows a little slice of what makes our efforts feel so worthwhile.
THANK YOU COMMUNITY AND ODA VOLUNTEERS!!!
