Workshop on the At-sea Detection and Removal of Derelict Fishing Gear

December 8-9, 2008; Honolulu, HI

Background

Derelict fishing gear (DFG) is a threat to marine ecosystems, posing entanglement hazards for marine life, smothering the living substrate upon which it settles, and in at least one case to date serving as a vector for the introduction of alien species. Across the Pacific, DFG is now recognized as a major environmental threat to coastal and nearshore areas. A regional “hotspot” for DFG is the Hawaiian Archipelago, particularly the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, due to their proximity to the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, an area where ocean currents accumulate DFG from the North Pacific Ocean.

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Workshop

A summit of NOAA, other federal agency, and private sector experts in marine debris, oceanography, biology, and remote sensing technology was held December 8-9, 2008, to identify existing knowledge, gaps in understanding, and actions that can be taken to allow progress toward at-sea detection and removal of derelict fishing gear. This workshop was coordinated by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

Workshop objectives:

Development of an action strategy through government and private sector expertise to research, develop, and test technologies and protocols to assess the amount of DFG in the North Pacific and ultimately detect and remove DFG from the pelagic environment before it reaches sensitive nearshore environments.
Identification and synthesis of existing information on the behavior and movement of marine debris in the North Pacific; appropriate sensor, UAS, and anomaly detection technologies; and activities that have been undertaken to date to detect and track derelict fishing gear.

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