US Coast Guardsmen clear marine debris at Kure Atoll

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal | Crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kukui move trash off of a pier and into a small boat for transport Sept. 4, 2014, at Kure Atoll, Hawaii. Crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kukui helped clear the beach of nearly 11,000 pounds of marine debris to better the living conditions of the wildlife on the island. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal)  

KURE ATOLL, HI, UNITED STATES

09.04.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal 

DMA Pacific - Hawaii Media Bureau   

KURE ATOLL, Hawaii -- Coast Guardsmen assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kukui anchored out at sea and launched small boats to Kure Atoll in an effort to clear the shore of marine debris Sept. 4.

Although the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the lead agency for marine debris recovery the U.S. Coast Guard does partner with NOAA on occasion when resources are available.

The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kukui were already underway to Kure Atoll to help translocate 28 endangered laysan ducks to the island and cleaning the island's beach was a resource the crew could provide.

"Here we had an opportunity to colonize Laysan ducks on Kure Atoll while simultaneously making Kure Atoll more duck friendly by removing items not natural to the ecosystem," said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Steven Ramassini, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kukui commanding officer. "We improve the inhabitability, possibility and probability of the Laysan duck colonization as well as the other wildlife that exists on Kure Atoll."

U.S. Coast Guard Boatswains Mate 1st Class Chris Summers assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kukui, explained how crew members performed during the day.

"As soon as we offloaded the Laysan ducks we shifted immediately to recovering marine debris that had washed up on the shores of Kure Atoll," Summers said. "When we first approached the pile of marine debris we had to look at it and go through it to see what needed to be offloaded. If it was anything that could be a tangling issue for any marine life then that is what we took off first."

Two small boats were used to transport the debris from Kure Atoll back to the Kukui to be stored until reaching Honolulu where it would be properly disposed of.

"We were successfully able to offload about 11,000 pounds of marine debris and transfer it from Kure Atoll to the Cutter Kukui," Summers said. "It's very important to get the debris out of there so there are no entanglement issues for any of these endangered species and to keep the water ways clean."

• Date Taken: 09.04.2014
• Date Posted: 09.09.2014 18:42
• Story ID: 141624
• Location: KURE ATOLL, HI, US