PEARL HARBOR — Some 80,000 pounds of derelict fishing debris that was removed from reefs in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands during a monthlong collection expedition will be turned into electric power.

A crew from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Oscar Elton Sette unloaded the massive pile of nets, ropes and floats yesterday, claiming one of the biggest hauls collected by a single ship since 2005.

Calm seas and ideal weather allowed the 17 divers on the mission to reach areas that are usually too rough to dive in safely, said Lt. Tony Perry III, NOAA's marine debris principal investigator. The debris covered virtually the entire deck of the 224-foot-long Sette.

"We had amazing weather that allowed us to get to the outer reefs that we normally don't reach," Perry said. "The places that we surveyed this year were new places that we hadn't done. Some have not been done in five-plus years."

The debris collection, sponsored by NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Coast Guard and the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, has been operating since 1996. Crews have removed more than 700 tons of derelict fishing gear from reefs in the national monument.

The Sette and her crew will return to the northwestern islands next week for the second half of the expedition.

Weather and the rotating current in the Pacific send a constant stream of debris to the Hawaiian Islands, said Ray Boland, research biologist and dive supervisor. Debris collects in the North Pacific Gyre and is dumped near the Hawai'i archipelago as it passes by.

"The way our currents run in the ocean and the way our atolls are set up, Hawai'i is a perfect spot for debris collection," said Boland, whose realization of the problem in 1996 initiated the collection program. "We're like a gigantic comb filter for the ocean, and as the currents and gyre go it just packs up on us."

Boland said he discovered the problem while working with Hawaiian monk seals, which were increasingly getting entangled in free-floating fish nets in the area. He and three other divers went on a seven-day trip and retrieved 1,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear.

Since then, NOAA has been operating the retrievals, with a big push from 2001 to 2005, when major funding was available. In 2002, a partnership of federal, state and city agencies and private companies initiated the Nets to Energy program, said Carey Morishige, outreach coordinator of the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

Schnitzer Steel Hawai'i Corp. cuts up the nets, the city waives the tipping fee and Covanta H-Power burns them to generate electricity, Morishige said.

"It's our nation's first Net To Energy program and it's made possible just because of the good nature and support, pro bono, of all these partners," she said. "Since 2002, the program has created enough electricity to power 245 homes for one year."

Kyle Koyanagi, expedition leader and the chief scientist of NOAA Fisheries Service, said the expeditions are helping improve life for the monk seal and green sea turtle but more needs to be done.

Bundles of nets, some as big as Volkswagen Bugs sweep across reefs, creating a path of devastation before coming to rest.

"There's been a lot less fishing gear up there but until we do something on an international level and stop it from getting into the ocean, all we're doing is catching it on the back end," Koyanagi said.