Saving Seafood

Study seeks origins of ghost nets that haunt Hawaii’s shores

May 27, 2021 — Ghost nets” from unknown origins drift among the Pacific’s currents, threatening sea creatures and littering shorelines with the entangled remains of what they kill.

Lost or discarded at sea, sometimes decades ago, this fishing gear continues to wreak havoc on marine life and coral reefs in Hawaii.

Now, researchers are doing detective work to trace this harmful debris back to fisheries and manufacturers — and that takes extensive, in-depth analysis on tons of ghost nets.

The biggest concern is that derelict gear keeps killing fish and other wildlife such as endangered Hawaiian monk seals, seabirds and turtles long after it’s gone adrift, said Drew McWhirter, a graduate student at Hawaii Pacific University and one of the study’s lead researchers.

“These nets bulldoze over our reefs before they hit shore,” McWhirter added. “They leave a path of destruction, pulling coral heads out, and can cause a lot of ecological damage.”

Ghost nets foul oceans throughout the world, but the Hawaiian Islands — with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the east and another gyre of floating trash to the west — are an epicenter for marine waste.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

HAWAII: Marine debris research team fishes for clues in tons of ‘ghost nets’

May 10, 2021 — In an open-air structure called the “Net Shed” a team from Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research picks through a tangled mess of fishing nets.

They’re surrounded by mounds of twisted twine.

“It’s about five tons inside the ‘Net Shed’ and probably three tons outside, waiting for analysis,” said Jennifer Lynch, co-director of HPU’s marine debris program.

She’s heading up the effort to untangle the nets, cut and measure pieces, and look for clues.

“Lengths and widths and twine diameter, twin twists, knotted versus knot-less nets. You name it. We’re documenting what these pieces are,” she said.

The netting came from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. HPU partnered with Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project to bring it back last month.

“We brought back just under 95,000 pounds of plastics in total. And of that 80,000 pounds were specifically ghost nets,” said Drew McWhirter, who’s working on the project for his master’s degree in HPU’s Marine Science Program.

Read the full story at Hawaii News Now