Shoreline surveys and removal of marine debris at Midway Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands from 2013 to 2018

The marine debris data included in this dataset are from annual shoreline surveys conducted from 2013 to 2018 at the islands of Midway Atoll (Eastern, Spit, and Sand Islands) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) by the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) with funding from Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM), and NOAA's Marine Debris (MDP) and Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration (DARRP) Programs.

Prior to the surveys in 2013, each shoreline was divided into fixed 300-meter segments and stratified by the cardinal direction the shoreline was facing (e.g., north, south, east, and west). The shorelines of Eastern, Spit, and Sand Islands were divided into 19, 4, and 23 segments, respectively. All segments were surveyed at all islands during the 2013, 2015, and 2016 missions. During the 2014 mission, limited time was available to survey all segments; therefore, the pre-existing segments were randomized, and a subset of the segments were identified as a first- or second-tier priority for each strata. All first- and second-tier priority segments were surveyed in 2014. All first- and second-tier priority segments at Eastern and Spit were surveyed in 2018.

During a shoreline survey, field staff flagged the corners of the site and swept the entire survey area for marine debris. Most items found within the survey area >10 cm were collected and, if possible, bagged. Due to operational concerns, metal, glass, and building material were not surveyed or removed. Debris items <10 cm were also collected and bagged if the item could be identified (e.g., bottle caps and lighters were included in the survey, unidentified fragments <10 cm were typically excluded). Additionally, if the debris item was considered large (>1 m) or notable, a GPS waypoint was taken to mark the specific location of the debris, and the item was measured (length and width), recorded on the datasheet, and either bagged, removed, or tagged if the item was too large or hazardous to remove. The survey concluded by walking the perimeter of the survey site with a GPS.

Following the survey, bagged and large debris were transported to the operations center for the mission, weighed, and sorted, tallied, and recorded by debris type for each survey. Total weight of all collected debris and the survey area (derived from the GPS tracks) were recorded for each 300-m segment, along with the date since the last debris survey to calculate the accumulation rate. During an extended field season at Midway Atoll in the NWHI in 2012, PIFSC scientists removed all of the marine debris along the shorelines of the islands at Midway Atoll. This represented a "clean slate" and starting point to begin studying the accumulation rate along the shorelines for subsequent years. Accumulation rates are reliable only for Eastern and Spit Islands. The shorelines of Sand Island are cleaned regularly by permanent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service residents; thus, the debris data recorded by ESD for Sand Island does not represent natural accumulation.

The shoreline survey and removal efforts at Midway Atoll have been conducted as a component of ship-based missions to the NWHI, a component of a larger shore-based missions at Midway Atoll, or as a stand-alone shoreline debris removal mission at Midway Atoll.

The purpose of the marine debris survey and removal efforts at Midway Atoll is to mitigate entanglement threats to wildlife and study the accumulation rates at Midway Atoll's three islands: Sand, Eastern, and Spit.

The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM) includes the 1200 nautical mile chain of atolls and islets known as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) that are geographically positioned as a repository for marine debris. Marine debris circulates within the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre until it encounters the atolls of the NWHI.

The Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) has conducted both ship- and shore-based missions in the NWHI to survey for and remove derelict fishing gear and many other types of marine debris. Exploratory and opportunistic efforts began in 1996 that eventually evolved into annual dedicated cruises deployed up to 4 months at a time with a team of up to 18 divers.

These marine debris missions have been supported by several agencies over the years, including PMNM, NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), NOAA Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program (DARRP), and the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). ESD has removed derelict fishing gear and other marine debris from Pearl and Hermes Atoll (PHR), Midway Atoll (MID), Kure Atoll (KUR), Lisianski Island (LIS), Laysan Island (LAY), Maro Reef (MAR), and French Frigate Shoals (FFS).

Dataset will be updated in late 2019 with data from 2018 mission.

Dataset includes information from shoreline surveys and removal of marine debris at Midway atoll. All debris collected was sorted and tallied, and additional information was recorded for items considered large (> 1 m) or notable. Both data files include metadata from the surveys (location, dates, mission, weather, participants, survey area). Debris includes tallies by a wide range of specific debris types, such as plastics, food and beverage related items, cigarettes and other tobacco related items, fishing gear, balloons, toys, clothing, toiletries, tires, ropes, and cardboard to name a few. Large debris includes size (length and width) and total weight in kilograms of broad debris types (nets, metal, other), with a description usually provided.

These marine debris survey data are PRELIMINARY data and have not been screened for accuracy. NOAA can not be held liable for use of these data in a manner other than for perusal of preliminary marine debris data for scientific research on coral reef ecosystems. Disclaimer - NOAA makes no warranty regarding these data, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function on a particular system.

Shore-based mission to survey and remove shoreline marine debris at Midway Atoll

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NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Data Sharing Recommendations, version 9.0 updated August 12, 2015:

CREP welcomes the opportunity to collaborate on research issues contributing to the scientific basis for better management of marine ecosystems. CREP has a very diverse set of field activities that generates large volumes of data using an array of data collection protocols.

The following recommendations are for your consideration as you use this data:

1) Data analyses should take all field exigencies into account. The most effective way to do this would be active collaboration with CREP principal investigators.

2) In all presentations, product releases, or publications using data generated by CREP, proper acknowledgement of both CREP and the individuals responsible for data collection is expected. Citing the DOI (if available) is preferred, a non-DOI example is listed below.

3) If you collect or generate data for the same study areas, CREP requests that you share relevant information on complimentary data collections.

4) Those receiving data are strongly urged to inform the CREP Data Management Team of any errors and discrepancies that are discovered during the course of using these data. They are further urged to bring to the attention of the Team all problems and difficulties encountered in using these data. This information is necessary in order to improve the collections and to facilitate more efficient and economical data processing and retrieval. The users are asked to supply copies of any missing data that may be located, and to provide information as to significant subsets and special aggregations of data that are developed in using the material provided.

Example citation:

"This publication makes use of data products provided by the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with funding support from Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM), and NOAA's Marine Debris (MDP) and Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration (DARRP) Programs. The analysis and interpretations presented here are solely that of the current authors.”

Data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

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These marine debris survey data act as a proxy for area surveyed and have not been screened for accuracy based on environmental conditions or GPS accuracy. NOAA can not be held liable for use of these data in a manner other than for perusal of preliminary marine debris data for scientific research on coral reef ecosystems. When using this data, please credit the Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service.

Suggested citation:

Ecosystem Sciences Division; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2019: Shoreline surveys and removal of marine debris at Midway Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands from 2013 to 2018, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32834.

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Prior to conducting surveys, scientists are trained to identify fisheries-specific debris items (derelict fishing gear, nets, floats, buoys, FADs, oyster spacer tubes, eel cone traps, etc.) and common everyday consumer plastic debris items. Both classroom and field training tests must be completed for all researchers (experienced and inexperienced alike) before a new round of surveys begin. This training ensures that all shoreline marine debris surveys are conducted consistently by all scientists within a survey effort and also across periodic survey efforts.

The shorelines of East and Spit Islands of Midway Atoll were divided into 300 meter segments. The shoreline debris survey segments were randomly selected to ensure accuracy when calculating shoreline marine debris accumulation rates. Previously cleaned shorelines were resurveyed for accumulated debris.

The same methods of data collection were conducted consistently at each of the sites surveyed, by all scientists within survey efforts and across periodic survey efforts since.

Data are initially written on data sheets and later entered into an Access database. Data entry is verified post-mission against the original data sheets.

NOAA IRC and NOAA Fisheries ITS resources and assets.

Shoreline debris surveys conducted by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center's Ecosystem Sciences Division along the shorelines of the three islands on Midway Atoll: Sand, Eastern, and Spit since 2013.