Brenda Becker and Thea Johanos have studied endangered Hawaiian monk seals since the start of NOAA’s field work in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Forty years later, they are as dedicated as ever to the species’ recovery.
The team removed more than 160,000 pounds of lost or abandoned fishing nets and plastics from the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, an ecologically and culturally significant area, part of the Papahānaumokuāea Marine National Monument.