Climate Action United States Project #42171

Clean-Up Tons of Debris from the Ocean & Beaches

by Ocean Defenders Alliance

Project Report | Mar 24, 2026
Calif to Hawai'i: What Your Support Made Possible

By Kurt Lieber | Founder & President

Collage recap of ODA Maui's work in 2025

Thanks to your partnership for clean oceans, Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA) continues removing harmful marine debris from both Hawai‘i and California—protecting wildlife and restoring critical habitats.

Since we last reported in November, in Hawai‘i, our divers tackled heavily impacted reef systems and cleaned boat harbors.

At Spitting Caves on Oahu, a single cleanup removed nearly 100 pounds of lead and fishing line, while ongoing efforts in Maui resulted in 1,470 fishing hooks and just under ONE TON of toxic lead weights removed over the past year. On the Mauna Kea Coast on the Big Island, hundreds of golf balls were also recovered—these may seem harmless but they cover alot of the reefs and as they break down they release harmful substances.

In California, our work extends to sensitive coastal habitats like the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge (SBNWR), where debris threatens one of the region’s most important ecosystems. This refuge supports over 200 bird species throughout the year, and they are vulnerable to entanglement and ingestion of plastic pollution. Removing debris here helps protect not only marine life, but also critical bird populations that often mistake plastic debris for food.

WHY THIS WORK MATTERS

Many of the items we remove—especially lead, plastics, and fishing gear—pose long-term dangers:

Lead fishing weights leach toxins into marine habitats.
Fishing line and nets continue “ghost fishing,” trapping animals indefinitely.
Plastics and composite materials break down into microplastics, entering the food chain.

POWERED BY VOLUNTEERS AND YOU

None of this work happens alone. These cleanups are made possible by:

Your compassion and generosity!
Dedicated volunteer divers and topside support crews.
Local partnerships with resorts, boat operators, and community groups.

With your support, we can continue removing hazardous debris before it causes further harm—and protect marine life for generations to come.

With boatloads if thanks!

ODA Big Island gets big haul at Honokohau Harbor!

ODA Oahu "catch of the day" -- all kinds of debris

ODA defends 200 bird species in wildlife refuge!

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Nov 19, 2025
43,800 Reasons the oceans need you and ODA

By Kurt Lieber | Founder & President

Hanauma Bay gets the ODA debris-removal treatment!

It's not just the 43,800 feet of abandoned fishing line that screams you and ODA are needed...

There's also the 8 TONS of plastic and miscellaneous debris your crews have removed and the 8,300 pounds of fishing nets out of harm's way!

Those stats are just for this year so far. We still have more cleanups to do!

I hope you can see that your ongoing involvement in contributing to clean coastal waters is truly vital and impactful. To give you an idea, check out a few of the reports below.

Hundreds of volunteers participate with our California and Hawai'i chapters and consistently remove accumulated debris in dozens of our adopted cleanup sites:

Maui, Papawai Point and McGregor: We collected over 1,400 fish hooks here in one year! That's good news for turtles trying to navigate these waters. We're trying to keep up with the additional hooks ending up in the ocean on a daily basis...
Big Island, Kohala, Kawaihae Gulch. Sharing a few shots in this email of the volunteers removing giant bunches of lines.
Big Island, Kona, Freeze Face: Hauled out 6,000 feet of animal-entangling line and 45 pounds of toxic lead fishing weights.
Oahu, Spitting Caves: Our monthly at-sea outing found us here recently where we always find more lost fishing gear!
Oahu, Hanauma Bay: We're fortunate to be the only nonprofit approved to do cleanups here, and thank goodness your crews are doing the heavy lifting.
California: Thousands of dolphins show their joy for our work (come see the beautiful images) where we remove traps that continue to catch and kill animals long after the legal fishing season.

There's so much to tell you about the great work you make happen, it's hard to encapsulate it here.

I hope that you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or X, where we regularly share uplifting news and great photos/videos!

As we head into the week of Thanksgiving here in the US, I want you to know how grateful I am to partner with you. Thank you for your love of the oceans and generous heart to help!

Your Big Island Kohala team removes A LOT of lines

Fishing lines: a hazard to the wildlife and coral!

Over 1,470 fishing hooks will no longer do harm.

You & ODA do this work for them (& other wildlife)

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May 28, 2025
Ocean Wins You Helped Make Happen

By Kurt Lieber | Founder & President

ODA Oahu crew hauls out abandonded nets

Thanks to your support, April and May have been springing with good work for our oceans!

Following are a few highlights of our shared wins for the oceans:

Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA) is honored to be part of NOAA’s Large Whale Entanglement Response Team. In April, NOAA was alerted to a whale in distress off Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles. The Entanglement Team was able to remove lines that were wrapped around the whale's tail fin, and found the ropes were attached to three crab traps! We learned the poor whale had dragged the traps and a bunch of gillnet over 30 miles. Thankfully the humpback was able to swim away once released from the abandoned fishing gear! We were called in to go back to the scene where the whale was released and retrieve the ghost gear so this wouldn't happen to another whale. Check out the whole story and see how our highly skilled divers accomplished this effort! NOAA and ODA Join Forces in a Whale Rescue

Women crewmembers spotlighted: Our monthly volunteer celebration featured two of our hard-working and valuable members of our ocean cleanup team:

Temple Liebmann of Oahu
Jamie Pardau of the Island of Hawaii (Big Island)

New site - Adopt-a-Channel - Bolsa Chica: In order to stop all manner of plastic trash and debris from being washed out to the ocean, ODA has officially adopted this concrete channel. You'll love to see the stunning photographs of beautiful birds that call this wetlands their home AND "get a load" of the over 1,500 pounds of rubbish we removed! Inaugural Bolsa Chica Channel Cleanup

Big Island "K" Sites: In the last two months, our enthusiastic crew on the Island of Hawai'i has removed derelict fishing gear from the following sites: Kailua; Kawaihae South Harbor; Kona's Keahole South & Pipe Dreams.

ODA Oahu Crew Stewards Beautiful Popular Coastal Spot: As the only organization with a permit to clean this site, our recent visits to Hanauma Bay have proved fruitful. Massive Nets and Lines Removed from Hanauma Bay

I thank you for your ongoing financial support which directly translates into clean coastal waters that are safe for marine wildlife and their habitats.

It's uplifting to partner with you in this effort and we look forward to doing more good work together!

ODA crew removes 3 crab traps that whale dragged!

Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge cleanup by ODA

Big Island crew removes another 32 tires - Kailua!

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