We are lucky at HandsOn Maui, to continually see the way the Maui County community comes together to make meaningful progress. Today, we want to give a heartfelt shout-out to a group of volunteers who have reached a milestone that is both inspiring and a call for change.
Our friends at SHARKastics just hit a truly eye-opening mark. They have officially collected, sorted, and removed over one million pieces of marine debris from Ka'ehu Bay! (1,004,031 pieces to be exact.) That is over 41 tons of trash kept out of the ocean and away from Maui wildlife.
14 Years of Rain-or-Shine Dedication
Since July 2012, the passionate SHARKastics volunteers have spearheaded a research cleanup at Ka'ehu on the fourth Sunday of every month.
For 14 years, this team has shown up for this vital coastline. Ka'ehu Bay is a critical environment for many native species. Because of how ocean currents move, debris from all over the Pacific Ocean, as well as trash discarded locally, constantly washes ashore here.
More Than Just a Cleanup: It's Critical Science
What makes SHARKastics unique is that they are not just picking up trash. They are analyzing it to understand a global problem.
Did you know their name comes from a very specific phenomenon? "SHARKastics" refers to pieces of marine debris that actually have animal bite marks in them. By studying these pieces, they are learning more about how marine life interacts with marine debris.
Every one of those million-plus items was carefully analyzed by a volunteer and logged into a data sheet across over 100 different categories. While the vast majority of what washes up is plastic, they've documented everything you can possibly imagine: glass, processed wood, rubber, metal, and synthetic fibers.
Mahalo Nui Loa!
We want to extend a warm mahalo nui loa to every single dedicated volunteer who has woken up early on a Sunday over the last 14 years to get their hands dirty for Ka'ehu. This hard work means safer beaches for your 'ohana and a safer home for Maui's marine animals.
How You Can Help
Because the ocean never stops moving, more debris continues to wash ashore every day. SHARKastics needs your help to start working on the next million.
If you want to protect native species, hang out with an incredible group of dedicated people, and do some citizen science, we invite you to join them!
When: The 4th Sunday of every month
Where: Ka'ehu Bay, Maui
Learn More: Visit www.SHARKastics.org or check out their wildlife monitoring work atwww.HIhawksbills.org andwww.HAMERinHawaii.org.
