Ocean Defenders Alliance

In general, the Hawaiian Islands are known as the “paradise islands.” We agree they’re incredibly beautiful. These islands deserve our stewardship and care especially because their beaches and waters are marred by abandoned fishing gear—both commercial and recreational—as well as plastic and “gyre-type” pollution.

In 2016, due to the great need for ocean cleanups, Ocean Defender Alliance (ODA) began working in Hawai'i. We kicked off our debris-removal work in Oahu with the help of long-time friend Stephen Boreman, Esq., his nephew Mash Hatae, Vicki Szymczak, and friends from the University of Hawai’i who are very concerned about the health of their local waters.

Since that time, ODA-Hawai'i has expanded significantly, with dozens of volunteers participating in ocean cleanups on Oahu and the Big Island, with Maui to be added in early 2022.

Debris

Because the coastal waters of Hawai'i are generally very deep, it’s quite different from the work we do off the coast of California where we can dive 35-100 feet and remove debris that’s sitting on the ocean floor.

The way the ocean currents flow, most ghost gear collects in the Pacific Gyre (garbage patch), but some spins out and washes ashore. Often, we remove very large quantities of fishing net from beaches along with fishing ropes and other garbage. Occasionally, we also find fishing equipment such as nets floating at sea, and regularly we find recreational fishing lines and toxic lead weights on the coral-laiden underwater cliffs and near-shore bottoms. ODA-Hawai'i is also expert at removing debris from harbors, bays, and inlets.

Boats & Strategic Partners

In Hawai'i, rather than own and keep vessels (which means high costs for purchasing, maintenance, and moorage), we partner with four reputable dive companies (in alpha order by island):

Oahu: Aaron's Dive Shop, Warren Murray (owner). Vessek Na Makana.
Oahu: Island Divers Hawaii, Matt Zimmerman (owner). Vessels Sea Fox.and South Seas II
Big Island: Aquatic Life Divers
Big Island: Body Glove Hawaii. Vessel Kona Explorer.
Big Island: Jack’s Diving Locker, Teri & Jeff Leicher (co-owners). Vessel Diver Two.
Big Island: Kohala Divers, Rebekah and Greg Kaufmann (co-owners). Vessel Kohala Diver.
Big Island: Kona Honu Divers, Byron Kay (owner). Vessel Honu One.
Maui: Prodiver Maui, Michael Dougan (owner). Vessel Pro Diver III.

We are fortunate to have these excellent partners who truly care about the local waters. We work from their boats and they help connect us with people who want to give back to the oceans.

People

We’re thankful there are so many people in Hawai’i who are passionate about their coastal waters!

On the Big Island, as mentioned above, we enjoy working with multiple dive companies (Aquatic Life Divers, Body Glove, Jack’s Diving Locker, Kohala Divers, and Kona Honu Divers) cleaning both debris from harbors and at sea. Our Big Island coordinators are Advisory Board Member Sarah Milisen (Kona area) and Kay Cooper (Kohala area).

Our monthly dives in Oahu waters from the Aaron's Dive Shop boats are always full with eager dive volunteers. Over the years, with Aaron's and our former partner Island Divers Hawai'i, we’ve had over a hundred different divers participate. Our Oahu chapter leaders are ODA Advisory Board Members: Dive Team Coordinator & Dive Master Gary Liebmann and Oahu Volunteer Coordinator Temple Liebmann.

Places

In Hawai'i, we work regularly in the waters and on the beaches of the Islands of Hawai'i, Maui, and Oahu.

Some of our regular cleanup sites:

Island of Hawai'i:
Akoni Pule Highway
Deep Step
Honokohau Harbor
Kailua Pier
Kawaihae - three sites
Kawaihae Harbor
Keahole Point
Kealakekua - multiple sites
Kohala Coast
Outhouse
Pipe Dreams
Pololū Beach
Spencer Beach
Tako City / Sand Chute
The Hive

Maui:
Dragon’s Teeth at Makaluapuna Point
La Perouse Bay
McGregor
Papwai

Oahu:
China Walls, Fishing Camp
Hālona Blowhole
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
He'eia Pier, Kaneohe Bay
Magic Island
Poka'i Bay
Waiahole Beach Park

2024 Hawai’i Island Student Scuba Scholarship Program

We are thrilled and truly humbled to create and offer this important and impactful scholarship opportunity along with our partner, Kohala Divers, that will help drive our mission for a debris-free sea.

This program offers a full scholarship for Open Water Scuba Certification to students currently enrolled in a local high school between the ages of 15-18 years of age, as well as a full scholarship for the Dive Against Debris Certification after their Open Water Certification is completed. We are offering over a dozen scholarships!

Check out the scholarship details and application.

Volunteer Opportunities

Be sure to sign-up for our email list so we can let you know when opportunities to participate in ODA cleanups arise.

Also, you can regularly check the list of volunteer opportunities on our ODA-Hawai'i Activities page.

We’d love to have your help in Hawai'i, whether on a beach or on a boat or helping with outreach. Check out all the types of volunteering on our Get Involved page.

If you haven’t already explored our California page, we invite you to do so.