A 20-foot white and blue fiberglass fishing skiff brought to shore Friday is the second confirmed piece of Japanese tsunami debris to be found in and around the Hawaiian Islands, officials said.

The crew of the 90-foot tuna longliner Zephyr found the skiff capsized about 800 miles northeast of Maui, hauled it aboard, cleaned it of gooseneck barnacles and crabs, and displayed it at Pier 38.

Carey Morishige, who is with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s marine debris program, said the Japanese Consulate General confirmed the skiff — which is still in good shape — was lost from Iwate prefecture in the March 11, 2011, tsunami.

The crew of the Zephyr scrubbed off some of the registration information while cleaning the boat, but the number "107" is still visible on the side along with Japanese characters on the front that Pete Grillo, the captain of the Zephyr, said was translated as "Fortune Fishing No. 3."

According to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the owner of the skiff doesn’t want it back, so it’s now Grillo’s.

The boat was checked by the state Department of Health for radiation and found to have no readings above normal background levels, DLNR Director William Aila Jr. said.

"It’s kind of exciting to now own a part of history like that — and I’m more excited to go out in the lagoon (in it) and catch some bonefish, to tell you the truth," Grillo said.

Aila said Grillo did the right thing.

"The captain was great because he understood our concerns about marine debris, so he and his crew cleaned the vessel," Aila said. "As you can see, they did an amazing job cleaning the vessel north of Hawaii."

Since the identification last month of a large blue plastic fishing bin as the first officially confirmed piece of Japan tsunami debris, Hawaii residents have contacted the DLNR and other agencies to report flotsam including pieces of Styrofoam, large buoys used in oyster farming, a rubber float, a beer crate, a tire, plastic containers, a hard hat and large light bulbs.

But in most cases, it’s extremely difficult to determine whether debris came from the tsunami without unique identifying information, the DLNR said.

Aila said he expects to see an increase in the amount of marine debris coming to Hawaii coinciding with National Weather Service predictions that we may be headed into an El Nino period of warming Pacific water.

"Whether we see more Japanese (tsunami) debris is always questionable, because there’s already debris that’s in the ocean," Aila said.

There are at least three large garbage patches in the Pacific that collect debris due to currents, and El Nino can push south what’s known as the "subtropical convergence zone" — and its trash — into the region of the Hawaiian archipelago, officials said.

The government of Japan estimated that the tsunami swept 5 million tons of debris into the Pacific, and that about 70 percent sank quickly. The remaining 1.5 million tons was dispersed far across the North Pacific, with dispersal modeling predicting "high-floating" items washing ashore in Hawaii this past summer.

Aila said the DLNR will be asking during the next legislative session starting in January for funds to address tsunami marine debris issues.

"We also understand perhaps there are federal funds that our congressional delegation is going to go after and possibly some funds that the Japanese government is talking about," Aila said.

Morishige said the U.S. and Japan previously talked about $5 million for tsunami marine debris cleanup efforts, but there are no details yet on the funding.

A large red light bulb with Japanese writing was found on the shore just north of Kawaihae Harbor on Hawaii island on Sept. 26 by Kincaid Krizek and his son, Curren.

A federal official said the light bulbs have been found in the past, prior to the tsunami, and might be from squid-fishing boats.