Ghost Net Recovery During Whale Watch | Feb 6, 2025
Ghost Net Recovery During Whale Watch | Feb 6, 2025
On February 6th, we were running one of our daily whale watching tours viewing humpback whales and short-finned pilot whales. Kona is known for its wide variety of year-round whales and wildlife, but amidst our awesome encounters, Captain Andrew Aggergaard and Naturalist Olivia Miller spotted a green mass offshore.
After further inspection, our HA team discovered it was derelict fishing gear. These masses are called “ghost nets” and are drifting lost or discarded fishing nets, traps, pots, and other equipment. Ghost nets are one of the leading contributors to marine debris and pose a massive threat to marine life in addition to being a safety hazard for vessels. Ghost nets can harm coral reefs and entrap fish, sharks, turtles, dolphins, and larger cetaceans like whales.
With the support and encouragement of our patient whale watching guests, Captain Andrew and Naturalist Olivia were able to pull the mass out of the water and onto the back swim step of our vessel Artemis. Back in Honokohau Harbor, a team made up of members from DAR (The Division of Aquatic Resources) and DOBOR (The Hawaii Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation) helped dispose of the net properly to ensure it will no longer be a threat to marine life.
Our Hawaiian Adventures team is passionate about providing educational experiences on our adventures, and ocean clean up is one of the most rewarding parts of the job. We will continue to instill greater respect and understanding of the ocean on every tour, and act on opportunities to recover marine debris from Kona’s waters.
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