In recognition of the International Coastal Cleanup Day, we (all 5 of us) here at Tern Island did our part by removing a couple of large net masses from the beach. Erin and I could have surely done it by ourselves, but we let Mark (AKA "Guns") and Dave (the only one who knows how to operate the forklift safely) contribute.
The sea was angry that day, my friends! Jessie photographed our victorious wrestling match with the first net, which went three rounds: digging it out of the sand, floating it down the beach, then hauling it back up the beach to the forklift. It put up a good fight, but it didn’t stand a chance because those horrible images of entangled seals, turtles and seabirds inspired us to not giving up despite its weight and the crashing waves. Once the second net saw our strength and determination, it threw in the towel making it easy to haul up the beach. We felt all warm-&-fuzzy inside knowing that these nets would no longer threaten the Tern Island marine life.
Besides entanglement dangers, pieces of net and plastic are eaten by sealife. This can be especially harmful if adult seabirds feed their chicks this toxic meal.
Here are a couple plastic bottles that have been munched on by small sharks (notice the jagged edges from the bites). It obviously can’t be good for the sharks’ digestive systems if they are actually consuming this stuff!
I was happy (well, not actually happy, but…) to find these “sharkastics” here, as I collect them during marine debris cleanups on the main Hawaiian Islands. Yes, I invented the word sharkastic. Kinda has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Hopefully it will catch on because sharkastics certainly are great educational tools once folks realize what they are. Consider yourself one of those enlightened folks now, so get out there and find some of your own sharkastics- it’s fun! And it’s not a difficult treasure hunt. I have found that nearly every piece of thin plastic has some evidence of shark bites. They range from simple pointy punctures to quite dramatic rows of teeth marks that will surely “WOW” your friends and family. Extra points for the biggest tooth radius, although the bigger sharks are probably just grinding the bottles whole… Comforting thought, eh? Oh, while you’re at it, if you could please pick up the other rubbish you come across as well that would be great. Mahalo!
Marine debris is an issue throughout the state of Hawai'i, and there's a special NOAA team who has removed tons of debris from the NWHI reefs and beaches. Here in the FFS, Tern and Trig seem relatively debris-free compared to East Island and especially the Gins. That’s probably where their names originated (besides the crystal clear water)- this is where all the alcohol bottles collect! Even on the most remote and picturesque atoll, there’s this constant reminder of the ugliness of society. Bummer.
On a happy note, you just never know what you’ll find during beach cleanups…
1 comment:
You must write a book, or at least design a pamphlet, for education and fund raising. You have the makin' for it being very colorful and motivational! It will be an award winner (promise) and will get the results we all so need to help save our environment. Then there should be a law to make it mandatory reading and obeyance!
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