Debris from the tsunami that devastated Japan in March could reach the United States as early as this winter, according to predictions by NOAA scientists.

However, they warn there is still a large amount of uncertainty over exactly what is still floating, where it's located, where it will go, and when it will arrive.

Responders now have a challenging, if not impossible situation on their hands: How do you deal with debris that could now impact U.S. shores, but is difficult to find?

Since launching in 2008, Fishing for Energy, a successful private-public partnership coordinated by NOAA's Marine Debris Program, has reeled in approximately 1.1 million pounds of old fishing gear.

Fishermen have played a key role in directly retrieving a portion of this amount from the ocean.