ARGUS Aerial Reconnaissance for Ghost-Net Understanding and Salvage

Each year, 114,640 additional pounds of nets accumulate in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. These “ghost” nets are typically lost fishing nets that have devastating impacts on marine life and ecosystems, catching onto reefs and killing animals who become entangled. Ghost nets can also end up wound around ship propellers, which can damage mechanical operations and endanger the crew.

Current removal efforts have difficulty locating ghost nets, often relying on limited- accuracy satellite data, buoys that may drift away from the net, and human divers. Once underwater, ghost nets can become almost indistinguishable from coral reefs, making them challenging to identify from satellite imagery alone. To address this challenge, our proposed solution is Aerial Reconnaissance for Ghost-Net Understanding and Salvage (ARGUS) that utilizes Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) equipped with specialized sensors and AI analysis to identify ghost nets and alert cleanup organizations.

Using satellite imagery, our system targets ocean areas in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with historical ghost net activity and plastic pollution. Ground control deploys scout UAVs that fly a surveying pattern and scan the ocean using Red, Green, Blue (RGB) and Near-Infrared (NIR) sensors to flag potential ghost nets. Confirmation UAVs equipped with Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) sensors then fly to the flagged areas, verify that the targets are ghost nets, and send coordinate and video data back to ground control for additional verification if necessary. Finally, local marine debris cleanup organizations are notified of the ghost net locations and go out to remove them.

By continuously circling the net as it moves and sending live coordinates, ARGUS’s confirmation UAVs allow for targeted, efficient net removal, reducing diver and crew search time. As a result, ARGUS can lead to healthier habitat and aquatic conditions for marine life, as well as safer voyages for ships.