Yes. Lost, abandoned and discarded fishing gear is a major part of the floating debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). A 2022 study estimated that 75%–86% of floating plastic mass larger than 5 cm there could be abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear. These nets can keep catching animals, entangle wildlife and damage reefs long after fishers lose control of them.
What the Great Pacific Garbage Patch actually is
The GPGP is a broad convergence zone between Hawaii and California within the North Pacific subtropical gyre. Currents gather floating material there, but the patch is not a solid island of trash. Debris is dispersed through the water column and across a large area, with concentrations that shift over time.
Lost gear from fisheries around the Pacific can be carried into this zone and toward the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Large trawl and drift nets are especially persistent because their synthetic materials are designed to withstand years of marine use.
How much of the patch is fishing gear?
There is no single percentage that describes every object in the patch. Results change with the debris size threshold, sampling method, classification system and whether a study counts nets alone or all fishing-related gear.
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| Source | Measure | Reported result | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ocean Cleanup, Scientific Reports study, 2022 | Floating plastic mass larger than 5 cm in the GPGP, using debris analysis combined with fishing-activity observations and dispersal modelling | 75%–86% could be considered abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear | A patch-specific estimate for large floating plastic; it is not a share of all ocean plastic pollution |
| Lebreton et al., The Ocean Cleanup research team, 2018 | Debris mass in an earlier GPGP sample | Fishing nets were estimated at 46% of debris by mass | A separate estimate that is not directly interchangeable with the 2022 result |
| NOAA Fisheries, 2015 | One recovery operation in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands | 11.5 tons of derelict fishing-net conglomerate removed | An example of the scale a single entangled “monster” net can reach, not an annual total |
The two percentage estimates are not contradictory. The 2018 figure concerns fishing nets in a particular sample, while the 2022 range covers abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear more broadly and applies a different size cutoff and modelling approach.
Why a lost net can keep killing animals
Ghost fishing continues after the gear is lost
NOAA defines ghost fishing as what happens when derelict gear “continues to fish.” A net can still trap fish, sharks, rays, turtles, seabirds and marine mammals even though nobody is tending it. Animals caught in the mesh may die, and their bodies can attract more animals that become trapped in turn.
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Because the gear is no longer attached to a vessel, it can drift through areas used by many species. NOAA identifies entanglement, mortality of protected or endangered species and navigation hazards among the consequences of derelict fishing gear.
Moving nets can destroy reef habitat
Derelict nets do more than trap animals. NOAA field researchers observed ghost nets tumbling across coral reefs at Pearl and Hermes Atoll. Nets can wash over barrier reefs, rip coral heads from the substrate and sink as debris accumulates into a heavy net ball. Those observations linked the nets with significant coral loss and show a direct habitat-damage mechanism, not merely a concern based on plastic quantity.
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Gear can transport other organisms and hazards
NOAA also lists habitat destruction and the transport of invasive species as impacts of derelict gear. A drifting net can therefore spread ecological pressure beyond the place where it was originally lost.
How fishing gear reaches the patch
Convergence currents collect gear lost across the Pacific and move it through the North Pacific subtropical gyre. Nets may remain afloat for years, repeatedly interacting with wildlife and reefs as wind and currents change their path. Some eventually become waterlogged and sink, while others continue drifting toward the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
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The 2022 analysis identified the United States, China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula among principal source regions. A source region does not necessarily identify the vessel that lost a particular net; it indicates where fishing activity and the observed debris patterns point when considered together.
What the percentages do—and do not—tell us
- They describe the GPGP, not all ocean plastic. The 75%–86% estimate should not be generalized to every marine environment or every type of plastic pollution.
- They are mass estimates. A few large nets can outweigh many thousands of small fragments, so a mass share is not the same as a share of item counts.
- They use different definitions. “Fishing nets” in the 2018 estimate is narrower than the 2022 category of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear, which can include other equipment and aquaculture-related items.
- They do not provide a patch-wide death toll. The available sources document ghost fishing, entanglement and coral damage, but they do not establish a defensible annual count of animals killed specifically by nets in the GPGP.
Which actions can reduce the damage?
Prevent gear loss
- Use equipment and operating practices that reduce snagging and accidental loss.
- Report lost gear promptly so retrieval can begin before it drifts into sensitive habitat.
- Focus prevention work on fleets and fishing regions identified by debris-source and fishing-effort studies.
Recover derelict gear
Retrieval stops ghost fishing and removes a source of reef damage, but crews must plan around weather, entanglement loads and fragile habitat. Removing a heavy net from coral can itself cause damage if it is dragged rather than carefully lifted and cut free.
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Provide take-back and recycling routes
Accessible disposal options make it less likely that old or unusable nets will be dumped or abandoned. NOAA describes Fishing for Energy as a cost-free disposal solution for old, derelict or unusable fishing gear through a partnership involving NOAA, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Covanta and Schnitzer Steel. Availability and participating locations vary, so fishers should verify access locally.
Monitor removals and sources
Recording the gear type, markings, condition and probable source of recovered nets helps direct future prevention. Monitoring also shows whether removal campaigns are reducing ecological risk rather than simply relocating debris.
What this means for ocean life
Fishing nets are not the only threat in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but they are unusually dangerous because they remain functional after loss. Their combination of durability, mobility and ability to trap animals explains why fishing-related plastic can have a disproportionate ecological effect compared with its volume alone.
The evidence supports a clear priority: stop gear from being lost, report and retrieve it quickly when loss occurs, and ensure old gear has a practical disposal or recycling path. Those steps address both the debris seen in the patch and the ongoing harm caused by nets that continue fishing out of sight.
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