On 31 January 2011, AFMA and Customs officers onboard the Australian Customs Vessel, Roebuck Bay detected a ghost net in the waters off Cape Van Diemen, North of the Tiwi Islands.
The net was attached to a rocky outcrop in approximately four metres of water and had been sighted earlier by a Coastwatch aircraft.
Working together over the next two days, the officers successfully removed the ghost net by physically cutting it away from the sea floor. The crew managed to cut away approximately 250kg of net.
During the operation a living adult green sea turtle was found caught in the net. The crew freed the trapped turtle shortly afterwards. Luckily, no other marine life was found in the net.
AFMA and Customs officers returned the net to Darwin and disposed of it.
