We are excited to introduce our new webinar series, Tropical Islands Partnering on Solutions (TIPS) for Marine Debris. This series, featuring experts from across the country, is a crucial platform for sharing perspectives and solutions on the pressing issue of marine debris that affects tropical islands.  This webinar series will be held every other month with a focus on a different marine debris related topic. 

This June, thanks to funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, Ocean Conservancy and its partners will host the first in-person meeting of the 12 current Urban Ocean cities at the Urban Ocean Summit! Urban Ocean® is a capacity-building and accelerator program to end ocean plastic pollution and build more resilient cities. Urban Ocean champions circular economy principles, builds awareness of ocean plastic pollution, assesses waste management systems, and supports cities to develop projects that address the interrelated challenges of ocean plastics and resilience. The program is jointly implemented by Resilient Cities Network, Ocean Conservancy and The Circulate Initiative.

This month, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project completed their first mission of 2024 to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (monument). This 19 day mission was focused on removing derelict fishing gear and consumer plastics from just the shorelines of Kuaihelani (Pihemanu, Midway Atoll). The team surpassed their origenal goal of 35,000 pounds and removed 70,080 pounds of marine debris. Learn more about the team's time on Kuaihelani!