One of the largest ghost nets ever encountered by local rangers has been hauled from remote waters off the Northern Territory coast, perhaps signalling the start of marine debris season.

The net, which was pulled up by ferry operators travelling from Gove to Groote Eylandt, was heavy with sand but miraculously free of sea creatures.

Ghost nets are those typically lost or discarded by fishing vessels and are known to devastate marine life, including dugongs and sea turtles that dwell off the Top End.

"It's not uncommon to find sea turtles, sharks and fish entangled in them," Tom Lawton from Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers told ABC Radio Darwin's Liz Trevaskis.

"These sorts of nets are pretty dangerous for the environment and ecosystem."

Ferry operators pulled the net out of the Gulf of Carpentaria. ( Supplied: Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers )

Ferry operators collected the monster net earlier this week before handing it over to the rangers.

"We got some of [the sand and plastic] off, but it would've honestly been twice the size if we'd have got it all the way out and fully stretched it out," Mr Lawton said.

"It's one of the bigger ones we've seen this year and it definitely highlights the issue."

Luckily, no marine life was entangled in the net.

Tonnes of waste

Rangers in North-East Arnhem Land coastal areas have spent hours in recent dry seasons patrolling once-pristine remote beaches, collecting the tonnes of waste that seasonally washes ashore.

There is some contention about its exact provenance, but there is general agreement that the waste is carried from south-east Asia by dry season winds.

While Mr Lawton said recent surveys suggested there were fewer ghost nets afloat in remote waters — partly due to awareness-raising campaigns — he said this one could represent the beginning of "marine debris season".

He said it was also possible that recent cyclonic winds pulled marine debris down into the Gulf of Carpentaria.

"Everything's getting blown down with monsoonal winds, and once the south-easterly winds kick back in, all that rubbish being pushed down into the gulf will end up pushed up on the East Arnhem coast.

"It'll definitely be interesting to see how the season goes for the rangers and what we end up picking up off the beaches."

Based on the net's handiwork, Mr Lawton said he believed it came from south-east Asia.

In December, an Indonesian diplomat travelled to East Arnhem Land to raise the issue of Asian plastic waste washing up on the region's beaches.

The monster net has made its way to the local arts centre where it will be woven into a ghost net basket — a common local gift.