— By Andru Shively — 

Sailors, assemble!
To the salt, to the sea
To your ships out to see
A Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a GPGP

Dutch non-profit The Ocean Cleanup (Rotterdam; www.theoceancleanup.com) has put out the call to all those sailing the North Pacific between California and Hawaii this summer to join a research expedition involving AI cameras and GPS to track and map the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Related: GPGP could be plastics-free within 10 years – The Ocean Cleanup

Boaters who register to take part are to be given Automated Debris Imaging System (ADIS) cameras that will monitor floating plastics, relaying images back to Rotterdam for mapping the GPGP and forecasting its trajectory with predicative software. Sailors are also to be supplied with GPS buoys to tag any larger items like stray fishing gear or ghost nets that are found in order to facilitate their future cleanup.

So, hoist the camera! Make ready the trackers! And weigh anchor! Next port of call: Garbage Patch, North Pacific Ocean.