The Environmental Protection Agency announced it will team up with a group of federal agencies to track marine debris generated by the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan. 

The EPA and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will issue monthly updates about debris and its potential impact on Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and the Norther Mariana Islands.

The goal is to get a “clearer picture of the amount of debris that may be floating in the ocean,” according to a statement by Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Pacific Southwest administrator. 

Read more from the EPA, or follow the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region Twitter account.