HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Shoes, bottle caps and derelict fishing nets litter an uninhabited paradise. One of earth's great sanctuaries has been flooded with hundreds of thousands of pounds of rubbish and a Hawaii nonprofit is working to clean it up one piece at a time.

Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project is a non-profit that does large-scale marine debris cleanups at the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, stretching 1,200 miles beyond Kauai.

"It's an incredibly special and important place, both for its ties to native Hawaiian culture, but also as a sanctuary for some of our most endangered and threatened species," said Kevin O'Brien, the President & Founder of Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project. "Visiting Papahānaumokuākea is a bit like stepping back in time. The birds, fish, and other animals may have never seen a human. Seabirds will land on your head. Big Omilu may swim around your ankles while you wade by the shoreline, and you can witness all manner of National Geographic-like moments everywhere you go. But, you also see all this amazing wildlife interacting with marine debris on a daily basis, which is sobering and provides great motivation for conducting this cleanup work."

The sanctuary has a plethora of plastic and fishing gear piling up to the tune of 100,000-150,000 pounds for each mission that PMDP takes.

"Our cleanups are a bit unusual- We put together a highly-trained team of freedivers and boaters, and head out into the remote islands of Papahānaumokuākea aboard a 180-ft ship for 30 days at a time. We launch a fleet of smaller boats from the ship each morning and conduct survey and cleanup work across the reefs and shorelines with our diver team. All the debris is loaded into our boats to be brought back out to the larger ship," O'Brien said.

The islands and reefs of Papahānaumokuākea are home to 7,000 total species, 23 endangered species, 90% of all Hawaiian green sea turtles, 80% of all endangered Hawaiian monk seals, 14 million seabirds and 70% of all US coral reefs. Every year over 57 tons of ghost net accumulate on the reefs of Papahānaumokuākea, and thousands more pounds of net and plastic accumulate on the shorelines. O'Brien said they've removed over 1 million pounds of debris in the four years since PMDP started.

"Every year over 57 tons of ghost net accumulate on the reefs of Papahānaumokuākea, and thousands more pounds of net and plastic accumulate on the shorelines. Endangered Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles, and seabirds routinely die from becoming entangled in netting or die from ingesting plastic. Not only that, these nets smother and break living coral reefs when they wash in from the open ocean and snag on the shallow corals. Our mission is to remove this threat from this very special place to give the wildlife the best chance of survival."

There are numerous ways to help keep Papahānaumokuākea and our Hawaiian Islands clean, which can start with the decisions you make at home in what eating sustainably and ethically sourced fish and reducing plastic use.

"Anyone can support our cleanup efforts by donating to our organization," O'Brien said. "Right now we're fundraising for our planned 2025 cleanups, which will take place in April, August, and October. Right now we have a $50,000 matching challenge campaign on the table. Every dollar you donate between now (Giving Tuesday) and the end of the month will be doubled, up to $50,000! All proceeds go directly to our cleanup campaigns. If you, or anyone you know is passionate about marine conservation and is an excellent waterman or waterwoman, we encourage you to apply to be a part of our team this coming spring. Go to www.pmdphawaii.org for more information."