ODA Hawaii Divers Remove 1,000 Yards of Fishing Line from Oahu Waters

By Oahu Volunteer Coordinator and Advisory Board Member Temple Liebmann

Our February Island Divers cleanup turned into one of those unforgettable Hawaiʻi dive days — the kind where the weather keeps you guessing but the team pushes forward anyway.

On the afternoon of February 22 at 2:00 PM, we launched with our sights initially set on Fish Camp in Maunalua Bay. The weather already looked a little questionable. Dark storm clouds were building onshore and rain was sweeping across the mountains. Looking back toward the Koʻolau Mountains, we could barely see the ridgeline through the heavy clouds and rain bands. It was clear the weather was moving in, but we were determined to get a dive in before the storm arrived.

When we got out to Fish Camp, there was a lot of human activity in and near the water’s edge, so we decided to divert to another nearby site — Spitting Caves. That decision turned out to be the right one.

Our dive was led by Gary Liebmann with an incredible team of divers: Eduardo and Morgan Abreau, Chandler Bosch, Elena Dobrica, James Delecki, Bill Metzler, Dan Okimura, Ed Siseno, and Rose Zhang. On the boat, Captain Matt Negaard handled the helm while I provided top-side support.

No sooner had the divers hit the water than the storm arrived.

Within minutes, a torrential downpour opened up over the bay. The wind picked up, the boat began rocking in the building chop, and visibility dropped dramatically. At one point we could barely see land through the rain. The cliffs at Spitting Caves were transformed by the storm — a temporary waterfall pouring down the rock face directly in front of the caves. It was an incredible sight, but the rain was coming down so hard there was no way to safely capture photos.

Matt and I ended up taking brief shelter in the cabin as the storm passed through while keeping watch on the dive bubbles.

Meanwhile underwater, the divers were having a completely different experience. They later reported that conditions were a bit surgy but manageable, and the most remarkable part was the sound. The area was alive with whales, their calls echoing through the water while the divers worked the reef. Most of them had no idea the storm was raging above them.

And the debris they found made the effort worth it.

The team recovered a massive amount of fishing line and gear tangled along the reef — roughly 1,000 yards of line along with assorted debris. Once everything was brought onboard and later weighed back on shore, the total came to 156 pounds of debris removed from the ocean.

In one of those perfectly timed moments that only seem to happen on dive days, the skies briefly cleared about a minute before the divers surfaced. The sun popped out just long enough for us to safely get everyone — and the debris — back onto the boat before the storm opened up again.

Back at shore we quickly sorted and weighed the debris before packing it out. Then, still completely soaked from the storm, the whole crew headed over to Kona Brewing Company where we celebrated the day the best way possible — with pu-pu’s, cold drinks, and a lot of stories about the wild weather and whale songs.

It was one of those classic ODA dive days: unpredictable conditions, a committed team, and a huge impact for the ocean.

Mahalo to everyone who made it happen. 🌊

Help keep the ODA cleanup crew at sea, doing what they do best!