A Hawaiʻi cleanup team has pulled more than 140,000 pounds of plastic and old fishing nets out of the state's remote northwestern islands this year, good news for the reefs and wildlife but a reminder of how much trash keeps arriving.

• Divers hauled out 47,000 pounds on the latest trip, bringing the 2026 season total to 147,000 pounds.
• The work covers Papahānaumokuākea, a 1,200-mile chain of uninhabited islands with no one around to clean up.
• A five-year grant just ended after clearing almost 1.4 million pounds, nearly wiping out a million-pound backlog.
• The problem never stops: 115,000 new pounds of debris wash in every year, trapping sea turtles and monk seals and smothering coral.
• Funding for the next round is not secured yet, and the group is hunting for new grants and partners.

Outlook: The team is aiming to return in April 2027 with 60 to 90 days of cleanup, and will start recruiting new free divers in January.