Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project
We’re removing massive amounts of plastic pollution from the waters and islands of Papahānaumokuākea—the 582,570 square miles of coral reefs, atolls, and aquatic habitat of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands— with PMDP, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project! We learn about Papahānaumokuākea’s cultural importance and what itʻs really like to be there, removing plastic pollution for a month at a time. We also take a look at PMDPʻs technology research to improve speed and efficiency of debris detection, cutting, and removal.
Watch the 30-second trailer for Season 12, Episode 3 on Vimeo, on YouTube, or on Vimeo with English Subtitles.
Watch the related episode: Marine Debris
Full Episode
Or watch the episode on YouTube!
(With archived viewer comments from our premiere on June 5th, 2025.)
Curriculum Connections:
Grade 5: Marine Debris
- Activity: DIY Beeswax Wraps
- Further Investigations: Recycled Art
- Grades 6-12: Ocean Surface Currents
- Weird Science: Marine Debris and Oceanic Gyres
- Activity: Build a Drifter
- UH STEM-Preacademy: Borrow the free, 3-lesson, C-MORE Marine Debris Kit
- Hanauma Bay Edu Program: Build Your Own Microplastics Cleanup Tool
- NOAA: Marine Debris PDF Toolkit for EducatorsPowerpoint presentation
- Debris Tracker: An open data citizen scientist movement
- NOAA: Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
- North American Marine Environment Protection Association: Educator’s PDF Guide to marine Debris
Additional Resources:
Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP) Homepage
- Where we work: A Sacred Sanctuary
- NOAA: Paphānaumokuākea Map
- The Team
- Follow-the-Journey
- In-the-Media
- Donate
- Where we work: A Sacred Sanctuary
- PMDP In the News:
- Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (Homepage)
- NOAA Marine Debris Program (Homepage)
- HPU: Center for Marine Debris Research (Homepage)
- Marine Debris in the News:
- Nets to Roads—NIST: Paving the Way With Recycled Plastics in the State of Hawai‘i
- Nets to Energy—NOAA: Hawaiʻi Nets to Energy Program
- The Guardian: Plastic pollution leaves seabirds with brain damage similar to Alzheimer’s, study shows
Marine Debris in Hawaiʻi Sea Grant News:
Select a season of Voice of the Sea
Contact information:
Kanesa Seraphin, Ph.D.
kanesa@hawaii.edu
CONNECT