Marine Debris Awareness Month - October 2008

In celebration of the International Year of the Reef, Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i is presenting Marine Debris Awareness Month - a series of free, public events to raise awareness of marine debris. These events include a weekly educational lecture series at Hanauma Bay and a Marine Debris Forum at the Hawai`i State Capitol.

Weekly educational lecture series Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i is partnering with the Hanauma Bay Education Program to present a weekly educational lecture series in October focused on marine debris. These free, public events take place every Thursday evening at the Hanauma Bay Theatre from 6:30pm-8:00pm.

Student Art Project for Marine Debris Awareness Month Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i organized the art project that raised awareness of the impact of marine debris on marine life at 15 schools involving over 700 students from grades K-12. The finished art work is being displayed at various locations during October including schools, libraries and the Hawai`i State Capitol.

Films: "Hawai`i – Message in the Waves" and "The Synthetic Sea Story" 6:30pm Thursday 2nd October, 2008 at Hanauma Bay click here for flyer
photo: James Watt		"Hawai`i - Message in the Waves" is a BBC Natural History Unit documentary that explores the dangers of plastic debris in the marine environment and the threat to marine animals and birds in Hawai`i. "The Synthetic Sea Story" is a documentary produced by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) about the threat of plastic debris in the ocean and impact on marine life. The film follows AMRF to the North Pacific Sub-tropical Gyre, Hawai`i and California as they sample and study plastic debris in the ocean and on beaches.

"Sea Birds as Indicators of Plastic Pollution in the Marine Environment" by David Hyrenbach 6:30pm Thursday 9th October, 2008 at Hanauma Bay click here for flyer
Dr. David Hyrenbach, Assistant Professor of Oceanography at the Hawai`i Pacific University will discuss the pervasive problem and impacts of plastic ingestion by seabirds with emphasis on the ecology and habitat of the Laysan and Black-footed albatross. David Hyrenbach is an Assistant Professor of Oceanography at Hawai`i Pacific University College of Natural Sciences.  His expertise is in seabird foraging ecology, the habits of far-ranging marine vertebrates and the conservation of pelagic systems.  His research interests include use of satellite telemetry to understand the ecology of highly migratory pelagic species including marine birds and turtles in the main and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.  He has a PhD from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and before joining the faculty of HPU, was a research scientist at the Duke University Marine Laboratory and a visiting scholar at the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.  For more information visit his website:  www.pelagicos.net		photo: Peter Hodum

"Marine Debris" by Suzanne Frazer 6:30pm Thursday 16th October, 2008 at Hanauma Bay click here for flyer
photo: Suzanne Frazer		Suzanne Frazer, Co-founder of the Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i will discuss marine debris and the work of the Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i (B.E.A.C.H.), an all volunteer organization that is concerned with reducing marine debris on Hawai`i’s beaches through beach clean-ups, litter prevention and environmental education.

"Synthetic Polymers Entering the Marine Food Web" by Charles Moore 6:30pm Thursday 23rd October, 2008 at Hanauma Bay click here for flyer
In his talk, Charles Moore, Founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, will explore the consequences of our society’s profligate waste over the last half century, and how it is showing up in the ocean’s food web from the smallest marine animals to the largest cetaceans.  He will explain the unexpected longevity of our waste in the marine environment, how it threatens the ocean’s biodiversity, and what we must do to change the tide of trash inundating our shores.   Charles Moore founded the Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) in 1994 to study and restore the ocean environment.  Since his discovery of the Eastern Garbage Patch in 1997, he has dedicated his time and resources to understanding and remediating the ocean’s plastic load. For more information visit the Algalita Marine Research Foundation website:  www.algalita.org		photo: AMRF

"Our Ocean Dumping Grounds:  Consequences and Repercussions for Sea Turtles" by Regina Woodrom Rudrud 6:30pm Thursday 30th October, 2008 at Hanauma Bay click here for flyer
photo: James Watt		Regina Woodrom Rudrud, Maritime and Fisheries Anthropologist, University of Hawai`i at Manoa will discuss the consequences of life for sea turtles within an ocean of marine debris as well as sea turtle biology, behaviour and life history. Regina Woodrom Rudrud is a sea turtle conservation biologist as well as a maritime and fisheries anthropologist who has studied sea turtles the past ten years in several countries.  Ms. Woodrom Rudrud is a lecturer in the anthropology and biology departments of the University of Hawai`i at Manoa teaching courses which include the biology of marine reptiles.  Ms Woodrom Rudrud also works as an independent contractor for the NOAA Fisheries Marine Turtle Research Program.

Marine Debris Forum (click here for flyer) A Marine Debris Forum will be held at the auditorium of the Hawai`i State Capitol on Wednesday October 22nd from 6:30pm-9:00pm. This free public event will include a panel of speakers, information tables, door prizes and refreshments. Hawai`i State Senator Gary Hooser and Hawai`i State Representative Lyla Berg will attend and welcome everyone. The panel of speakers includes: Charles Moore, Founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Regina Woodrom Rudrud, Maritime and Fisheries Anthropologist at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa, Donna Kahiwaokawailani Kahakui, Founder of Kai Makana, Suzanne Frazer, Co-founder of the Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i. Featured speaker, Charles Moore will present "Zero Waste? The Ocean Can't Wait!" The program will feature new research findings from the great North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, and ideas on how to deal with pelagic plastics which have become a plague on our oceans. The Marine Debris Forum is being organized by the Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i (B.E.A.C.H.). The event is also sponsored by Malama Hawai`i and International Year of the Reef.

Marine Debris Awareness Month sponsors:

Coral Photograph Credit to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce and Dr. James P. McVey. Dolphins, Japanese Angelfish, Green turtle, and Laysan Albatross photos by James Watt. Humpback whale photo by James Mobeley Unless noted otherwise, the contents of this website are Copyright © 2006-2020 B.E.A.C.H. Please ask permission before using any text, graphics or photographs from this website.