To deepen Taiwan–U.S. cooperation on marine debris management and trans-Pacific Ocean conservation, Taiwan’s Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Center for Marine Debris Research (CMDR) at Hawaiʻi Pacific University’s on Aug. 6 (U.S. time). The agreement establishes a long-term framework for collaboration. Through exchanges of information and expertise, institutional engagement, shared knowledge, and stakeholder participation, the partners will bring together Taiwan’s experience in marine debris management and circular use with Hawaiʻi’s strengths in marine debris science, source identification, and on-the-ground removal. Together, they will pursue more effective management and upstream prevention solutions for marine debris in the North Pacific.

Brenda Jensen, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Natural and Computational Sciences at Hawaiʻi Pacific University, said, “Since its establishment in January 2019, the Center for Marine Debris Research has been dedicated to developing and applying the best available science to better understand the challenge of marine plastic pollution.”

Ryan Kanakaʻole, Chairperson of the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), attended and spoke on behalf of Governor Josh Green: “The ocean recognizes no borders. Debris travels across regions on the currents, so our solutions must cross borders too. Today, Taiwan and Hawaiʻi are not simply signing an MOU—we are joining hands to protect a clean, healthy, and living ocean home for the next generation.”

Jennifer Lynch, Ph.D., Founder and Director of CMDR, stressed that marine debris management cannot focus only on downstream removal; preventing waste at its source is even more important. “We cannot only collect debris from our shores; we must stop it before it reaches the ocean. This partnership between Taiwan and Hawaiʻi is an important step from end-of-pipe removal toward source prevention, and from management action toward sustainability.” The two sides will explore more effective models for marine debris management through sharing experience, knowledge, and institutional exchanges.

Director General Shiau-Yun Lu of the OCA said, “On a map, the Pacific may appear to place Taiwan and Hawaiʻi at opposite ends. But in truth, the ocean is the shared language that connects us.” Taiwan and Hawaiʻi are both island communities whose daily lives, industries, cultures, and ecosystems are inseparable from the sea. Marine debris, too, does not stop at administrative boundaries: a single piece of discarded fishing gear can drift thousands of kilometers on the currents before reaching the shore of another island. For this reason, marine debris has never been merely a local cleanup issue. It is an ocean-governance challenge that calls for science, policy, and cross-border cooperation.

In addition to the MOU signing, the partners co-hosted the International Derelict Fishing Gear Prevention Workshop. Experts from the International Pacific Research Center at the University of Hawaiʻi, the Hawaii Longline Association, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument marine debris removal team, The Ocean Cleanup, CMDR, and other marine research and conservation organizations exchanged perspectives on ocean-current transport, debris source identification, the economic and safety impacts of derelict fishing gear on fisheries, large-scale removal, and circular reuse. Participants focused on four priority areas—Removal, Sourcing, Prevention, and Recycling—to identify strategies for advancing marine debris management in the North Pacific.

In recent years, the OCA has continued to remove marine debris and promote its recycling and circular use. In 2025, it removed 3,642 metric tons of marine debris and recovered more than 300 metric tons of debris materials, of which over 200 metric tons were recycled or repurposed. Through circular design and technological innovation, these materials have been transformed into everyday items such as marine-debris sunglasses, pens made from recovered floats, and towels made from discarded fishing nets—demonstrating the diverse possibilities of turning marine debris into resources.

Director General Lu added, “We cannot rely on cleanup alone, forever chasing waste as it continues to enter the ocean.” Effective marine debris management must begin with scientific monitoring to identify the problem, source identification to understand it, and systems that enable government, industry, and the public to prevent it together. The MOU signed with CMDR is intended to combine the two sides’ complementary strengths, moving beyond removing marine debris toward preventing it from entering the ocean in the first place.

Under the MOU, and in accordance with each party’s laws and policies, the partners will advance four areas of cooperation: exchanging information and expertise on marine debris response strategies, cleanup, prevention, and recycling and reuse; promoting institutional exchanges through personnel visits, meetings, and workshops; undertaking joint public communication and knowledge sharing; and encouraging the participation of stakeholders from government, academia, and other relevant sectors. The partnership is intended to grow from collaboration between two institutions into a more comprehensive ocean-governance network.

The OCA emphasized that the ocean has no borders—and neither should science, knowledge, or effective solutions. This partnership is not the end point of a signed MOU, but a new beginning for Taiwan and Hawaiʻi as they seek solutions to marine debris together. The OCA will continue strengthening international partnerships, bringing science, public policy, industry innovation, and public participation together so that proven experience and good solutions can travel across the Pacific: from removal to prevention, from waste to circularity, and from isolated action to international cooperation, in service of the Pacific Ocean we share.

News Release | Ocean Conservation Administration, Ocean Affairs Council
Spokesperson: Deputy Director General Yi-Che Shih
Contact: +886 7 338 3203
Media contact: Chen-Yao Ma, Section Chief, Marine Environmental Management Division | +886 910 868 801
Release date: August 8, 2026