GhostNet : High Sea Debris Detection & Tracking

June 26th, 2005

Ever heard of drifting ghostnets?
Ghostnets are lost or abandoned fishing gear that drifts in the ocean continuing to catch fish and entangle marine mammals, turtles, and sea birds. Since these synthetic materials used in fishing nets decay extremely slowly, so these nets can continue to drift for years.

The Mission of the GhostNet team 2005 is to “develop tools for locating, assessing and preventing the environmental and navigational impact of marine debris and ghostnets in the Pacific Ocean.”

They identify and locate convergence zones (CV) in the North Pacific since these are likely places for the concentration of marine debris. They utilize satellite and airborne remote sensing techniques (LIDAR, gated imaging, thermal and high resolution multi-spectral imagery and synthetic aperture radar technology) to search these high-risk areas to locate and map marine debris. The data gathered will be made available to aid in the removal or destruction of ghostnets.

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