Pacific Whale Foundation last week announced the expansion of its Adopt a Beach (AAB) program to residents of Maui County, with a focus on Maui’s North Shore and the islands of Lanai and Molokai.

The nonprofit marine conservation organization’s goal is to add 5-10 beaches to the current program, increasing participation 10 percent by December 2023, with an ultimate goal of enrolling volunteers to adopt every accessible beach in Maui County by the end of next year.

AAB plans to accomplish this goal by working with additional Neighbor Island partners involved in similar cleanups to compare and log data.

Launched in 2021, AAB requires participants to commit monthly to clean up a selected beach for a minimum of one year with reusable supplies — cleanup bags, gloves, data sheets and markers — provided by PWF.

AAB was initially created in response to the overwhelming debris collected through PWF’s ongoing Coastal Marine Debris Monitoring Program (CMDMP), which last year contributed 67,012 total waste items to PWF’s marine debris database. With the AAB expansion, the foundation hopes to connect with more Maui County residents interested in joining the organization’s efforts to make a difference.

PWF has identified marine plastic pollution, which accounts for 76 percent of recorded waste, as one of five major threats impacting whales, dolphins and other marine animals worldwide. Determining the source of this debris allows the organization to target its focus locally, nationally and/or globally, depending on results collected.

Additional volunteers in more locations translates to more consistent data and improved geographic marine debris information. With employee engagement programs re-implementing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, AAB is also an opportunity for businesses and other organizations to assist PWF campaigns that inform and influence policies to reduce marine debris.

With every accessible beach in Maui County assigned at least one volunteer by December 2023, the data collected will be used to identify which beaches collect the most debris, so that they can be prioritized for community cleanup days.

Additional measures included in the AAB expansion are volunteer flexibility regarding the time frame for monthly cleanups; quarterly contests for regular contributors; and a complimentary excursion with PacWhale Eco-Adventures — PWF’s solely owned social enterprise — per 12 months of submitted data sheets. There will be more perks added.

Eligible participants must provide photos of the front and back of their data sheet to the PWF Conservation Department at conservation@pacificwhale.org by the fifth day of the month following each cleanup.

For more information, or to sign up as a volunteer for Adopt a Beach, visit pacificwhale.org/adopt-a-beach/.

As of this month, West Side beaches in the program include Napili Bay and D.T. Fleming Beach Park. The beach from Shark Pit to Lahaina Harbor, as well as Kaanapali Beach, would be great additions. Monthly cleanups would help get rid of plastic debris and trash before they end up in the ocean.