Japan providing funds and plan to aid cleanup of tsunami debris

Less than 1.5 million tons of debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami is still adrift in the Pacific, Japa­nese government officials said Saturday at a symposium in Honolulu with state and federal officials.

While it’s unclear how much will wash ashore in Hawaii, the state wants to be ready.

Deputy Health Director Gary Gill said the state is looking for groups, preferably nonprofit organizations with relevant experience, to conduct beach cleanups in all counties. The deadline to apply is 4:30 p.m. Friday.

The request for proposals for marine debris removal was made possible by a $50,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and matching funding from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Contractors who are selected will be reimbursed for their expenses.

The money is part of $5 million that the Japanese government gave to the United States in December to assist in debris cleanup, Kazuhisa Ito, ocean policy counselor from Japan, said through an interpreter, during the symposium at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

The $5 million went to NOAA, and Hawaii is one of five states receiving an initial $250,000 for the cleanup. The others are Oregon, Washington, California and Alaska.

Japan is also in the process of securing $1 million for the Canadian government for tsunami debris cleanup, Ito said.

Japanese officials also shared an action plan to address the debris problem. Its initiatives include:

» Collecting information on debris from the Japanese coast guard and commercial ships;

» Estimating the amount of debris and its trajectory by running simulation models;

» Sharing information with the U.S. and other countries;

» Inviting Japa­nese nationals to join local cleanup campaigns and assisting Japanese and U.S. nongovernmental organizations involved in the cleanup.

Marine debris has long been a problem for Japan, Ito said. Only now, there is an added spirit of cleanup and more monitoring efforts are under way, he said.

"It is difficult to ascertain whether it is tsunami-generated debris because of the historical problem of debris coming from Japan," he said.

Of the more than 1,500 sightings, 21 have been confirmed as tsunami debris and six of those have been in Hawaii.

Japanese officials told the Star-Advertiser that the 50-foot floating concrete dock fishermen spotted in September 15 miles off Molokai could be from the tsunami.

Three such docks joined the flotsam — one turned up in Oregon and another in Washington. The Coast Guard was unable to locate the dock north of Molokai after it was reported by fishing crews.

Of 5 million tons of debris from the tsunami, about 3.5 million was deposited along the Japanese coast, officials said. Of the remaining 1.5 million tons that became floating debris, some has been collected and some has surely sunk, they said.

For information or to submit a proposal for beach cleanup efforts, go to www.hawaii.gov/health/epo or call Laura McIntyre at 586-4337.