Study seeks origins of Hawaii's dangerous ghost nets

“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.

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.