Fishing boats, nets, tires and more getting packed up and sent to a lab.

"We found this tire floating in the sea. It's all moving with the current and there's plastic spread around," said Sea Dragon Captain Roberto Olson.

The 12-member research crew just finished the last leg of their expedition to track plastic pollution in the ocean. And they found plenty.

Scientist Marcus Eriksen said a toothbrush is the perfect piece of plastic to last in the ocean. It's light and it's thick so UV rays can't get to the middle of it and break it down.

But Eriksen says the past 28 days was dedicated to finding the trail of tsunami debris from Japan's disaster.

About halfway from Japan to Hawaii, they found a Japanese boat with the registration numbers intact.

They also found car tires from Japan, insulated tatami mats from a house, nets, buoys and much more.

Eriksen said winds are carrying the lighter, buoyant stuff to Alaska and the West coast, but the slower moving debris is headed to Hawaii.

"Little by little you're going to see it. You're going to hear about a boat on Midway Atoll. You're going to year about a basketball on Kure Atoll. You're going to hear about debris hitting Kahuku Beach," Eriksen said.

But he also said much of it is spreading out too, combining with what's already been building for decades.