Honolulu commercial fishers are getting paid to do a little extra good every time they head out to sea, turning routine trips into cleanup runs through a university bounty program that has already yanked more than 185,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear out of the North Pacific. Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research is paying eligible fishers to haul in massive ghost nets, buoys and tangled conglomerates before they can shred coral reefs or trap turtles, seabirds and other marine life. The effort shields Hawaiʻi’s waters and gives working boats a new income stream.
Program figures show the operation has logged more than 690 recovery events, brought 77 commercial fishers into the fold and tapped over 2,100 volunteer hours. Launched in November 2022 and described as one of only three known efforts operating in the distant North Pacific garbage patch, the Bounty Project has pulled in more than 185,000 pounds of derelict gear, according to Hawaii News Now.
How the bounty works
Licensed commercial fishers in Hawaiʻi, including federally permitted longline vessels, can register with the program and are paid by the dry pound for qualifying derelict fishing gear. According to HPU’s DFG bounty page, the project uses tiered rates that typically range from $1 to $3 per dry pound depending on the gear type, generally requires items to weigh at least 100 pounds, and asks crews to log GPS coordinates and take photos before they offload their catch of trash on Oʻahu.
Funding and partners
The two-year effort is backed by a 2022 award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program and works with partners including Ocean Conservancy, Hawaii Sea Grant, the Hawaiʻi Longline Association and the state Division of Aquatic Resources. The Hawaii Department of Health’s HEER Office describes state support for the initiative and notes that the broader program could remove as much as 352,740 pounds of marine debris every year, according to the HEER Office. “After all information is collected from the DFG, the material is recycled or repurposed for research, education, or art,” HPU notes on its project page.
Why reefs benefit
Derelict fishing gear is mostly plastic, so it does not break down quickly and can smother coral, entangle and drown marine animals, and even pose risks to boats and navigation. Getting those giant nets before they hit the reefs or wash ashore cuts those threats off early. The Division of Aquatic Resources says that documenting and removing derelict gear helps protect areas from Kāneʻohe Bay out to offshore reefs and strengthens rapid response when nets are reported, according to the Division of Aquatic Resources.
Fishers’ perspective
“It is exciting to be a part of a project that directly engages fishermen,” said participating fisher Hank Lynch. He told Hawaii News Now that the payouts help diversify income for crews, and that when they run into especially huge nets, boats sometimes call in other bounty fishers to help hoist the load and then split the reward.
Turning nets into products
Behind the scenes, HPU has been building out a Plastic Recycling Research Facility that turns recovered marine debris into long-lasting products so the gear does not just move from the ocean to a landfill. Local coverage reports that after relocating operations in 2024, the center hauled in and processed hundreds of thousands of pounds of marine debris, and that the program links up with Nets-to-Energy and local recyclers to find practical uses for the material, according to Waste Advantage…