Many nonprofit organizations and several good Samaritans have worked hard to fight to save marine life from discarded things thrown into the seas. It is the result of their efforts that such a huge quantity of discarded fishing nets were shipped to O‘ahu to help generate electricity at HPower — Hawai‘i’s only waste-to-energy power plant — but first, they will be cut down into smaller pieces with the assistance of Schnitzer Steel Hawai‘i in Kapolei.
It is reported that Net Patrol, a campaign coordinated by Surfrider volunteer Barbara Wiedner, has scoured the island for nets either washed ashore Kaua‘i’s beaches or ensnared in its reefs, then removes the fishing debris with the help of several volunteers. Wiedner told that after two years of collecting these nets, it was great to get them off island and over to HPower on O‘ahu for them to use and truly recycle. Scott Bacon of Malama Na‘Apapa — a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the island’s coral reef ecosystems — had stored the tangled, soggy nets at his house for the past two years after meeting Wiedner at a “Save Your Seas” conference.
Wiedner also informed that there are many organizations on the island continuously volunteering their time to help remove debris from Kaua‘i’s beaches. She also said that the nets came from many different environmental groups on the island and we all worked together and we would like to continue the collaboration. Sheri Saari, a volunteer for Surfrider Kaua‘i, believes keeping the island’s beaches clean is vital to sustaining a healthy marine ecosystem.
