Somewhere out on the ocean between Hawaii and California, a mass twice the size of Texas floats gently over the deep blue waters. It’s not an island, a gigantic clump of seaweed, or a fleet of ships. Instead, this 994,000 square mile patch is made entirely of garbage. (1)
Named The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (or Gyre), a crew from the Ocean Voyages Institute set out on a mission to put a dent in the gigantic floating trash pile. This effort marked the single largest cleanup of the Gyre yet. (2)
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Clean-Up
On May 4th, 2020 the Kwai set sail from Hilo, Hawaii after a 3-week COVID-19 quarantine to ensure all crew members were healthy. This cargo ship’s mission was simple in theory: head to The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and do some cleanup. While the goal seems straightforward, the efforts required to clean such a large flotilla of debris are phenomenal.
The Ocean Voyages Institute uses GPS satellite trackers on ‘ghost nets,’ which can then lead them to larger deposits of trash. Volunteer yachts and ships place the beacons on these random nets for targeted collection. Because the Gyre covers such an immense area of ocean, it takes long days, lookouts at the mast, and concerted effort to find and collect the floating debris.
When the Kwai finds a piece of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it’s collected and stored in the ships hull to sift and recycle back on land.
After 48 days at sea, the Kwai docked in Honolulu on June 23rd with its cargo of collected trash. A massive 206,000 lbs of fishing nets and plastic was pulled from the oceans. That’s more than double the Ocean Voyages Institute collected over the previous year–as well as the largest cleanup of the Gyre to date. Mary Crowley, the Institute’s founder, was thrilled with the feat. “The oceans can’t wait for these nets and debris to break down into microplastics,” she said in an Ocean Voyages Institute press release, “which impair the ocean’s ability to store carbon and toxify the fragile ocean food web.” (2)
Our Oceans In Peril From Plastic
The Kwai is planning another voyage with The Ocean Voyages Institute crew as soon as possible. Sadly, this cleanup effort is critically needed in the Gyre. Accumulating trash from across the world that’s been caught up in ocean currents, it’s estimated that the current mass of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is over 88,000 tons. That’s equivalent to the weight of 500 jumbo jets.
Over 1.8 trillion plastic pieces are floating in the Gyre, enough for every human on earth to have 250 of their own pieces. Since the 1970s, the concentration of plastics has exponentially skyrocketed. This poses a toxic danger to ocean life, who often confuse the tiny plastic pieces for food. These chemicals, accumulating in the bodies of fish, can work their way up the food chain to humans. It also illustrates the inability of most plastics to break down: a crate from 1977, a hardhat from 1989, and Nintendo Gameboy cover from 1995 have all been found in the Gyre. (1)
It’s hoped that, with more voyages and cleanup efforts, the danger to ocean life can be reduced as the nets and plastic from the Gyre are removed. Crowley is committed to continuing her team’s efforts to clean up our precious oceans. “There is no doubt in my mind that our work is making the oceans healthier for the planet and safer for marine wildlife,” she says. “These nets will never again entangle or harm a whale, dolphin, turtle, or reefs.” (2)
