The Great Pacific garbage patch

Step 1: collect inventory of each of the 10 ships before a 1 month fishing expedition 

Step 2: monitor each ship via camera system 

Step 3: record amount of gear lost during expedition

Step 4: Provide an educational class on the benefits of using biodegradable netting and the affects of ghost fishing on the ocean. 

Step 5: repeat steps 1-3.

Step 6: assess whether there was a decrease in waste output taking into account any gear that was lost during storms, by incorrect technique, or through carelessness by viewing the video monitoring. 

Analysis: We will examine whether their was a clear decrease in the amount of waste output that could be controlled for, such as not leaving the nets in the water too long, taking the time to correctly secure each net, or doubling checking each. We will examine if the fisherman actually put into practice the preventative measures that we laid out for them and if doing so actually helped to decrease the amount of gear lost in the ocean. 
The crew will be informed that there are cameras on the ship, but they will not be told the extent of the study, most fishing boats are required by law to have cameras on each ship anyway so it shouldn't make much of a difference. This will eliminate those who are working on preventative measures simply because they're being monitored for a study. The captain of course will be informed.