Simple Tips to Prevent Ghost Fishing Waste
Ghost fishing waste is the silent killer in our seas, and one of the most stubborn problems facing our marine creature friends. Lost (through carelessness or storms) fishing gear floats through the water, trapping wildlife, and damaging habitats, long after fishermen have left.
Also read our post on volunteer beach cleans.
Whereas years ago, fishing lines and nets were made from materials like hemp, today most is made from monofilament line or nylon (plastic) so never breaks down.
What Is Ghost Fishing Waste?
It includes fishing nets, lines, traps and pots. Some is swept away in storms, sometimes falls off boats and even dumped occasionally. More gets into oceans from detached buoys, or being ‘sliced’ accidentally from passing ships.
This can lead to all creatures (seabirds, fish, crabs, turtles, dolphins and seals) getting caught (and starving), getting tangled (and drowning) or becoming snared, if they dive for food.
Around 10% of all ocean debris is ghost fishing waste. 140,000 (protected) marine mammals die each year in fishing gear. 83% of North Atlantic Right Whales show scars from entanglement.
Damage to Coral Reefs and Habitats
Ghost fishing nets can even drape over endangered coral reefs, scraping young habitats bare. Coral reefs are diverse ecosystems, so one single net can disrupt the whole balance that keeps plants and animals alive.
And as fishing gear breaks down, it sheds microplastics into the water, which get ingested by everything from plankton to whales. And they even end up in humans, who eat the fish that contain them.
Current Solutions and Prevention Efforts
Smart technology is helping to prevent ghost fishing waste. For people that work in the fishing industry, there are volunteer programs to remove it. But obviously the answer is to prevent it being littered in our oceans, in the first place.
There are new solutions like biodegradable nets and ‘escape panels’ to let trapped creatures swim free, if gear is lost. GPS trackers can also help fishermen recover what’s been lost, before it does harm.
And international agreements like the UN’s Global Ghost Gear Initiative bring countries together to share solutions, fight illegal dumping, and set rules to prevent ghost fishing waste, in the first place.
Where to Report Ghost Fishing Waste
- Your local council has a legal duty to remove it on public land, no matter who dropped it. For private land, it can serve litter abatement orders (for the landowner to remove it, or the council to remove, and serve an invoice).
- Report fishing nets and ghost fishing gear to Waterhaul (who can arrange collection nationwide, with participating volunteer groups).
- Tangled live creatures should be reported immediately to British Divers Marine Life Rescue (RSPCA and Coastguard can put you through). Don’t approach creatures yourself, you may scare them away.
- Report fly-tipping and dead animals to your local council.
Ideas to Help Prevent Ghost Fishing Waste
There are basic solutions like marking gear, and reporting lost equipment (there are forms for both divers and fishermen). There are also inventions that are alternatives to fixed fishing gear, to avoid entanglement:
- Ghost Fishing Solutions (this alerts when a line detached from a buoy, or sinks deeper than intended).
- Smelts (this uses lift-air technology to prevent lobsters, crabs and other creatures becoming trapped from pots and lines).
- Monomaster, which lets you store fishing gear, until you deposit it in a fishing line recycling station (or send it off).
- Ask councils or businesses to sponsor Terracycle’s Sports Equipment Box (also accepts fishing rods and nets). Just send everything off, to recycle into other items.
Volunteer Divers (and Dry-Land Sorters!)
Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners has volunteer divers nationwide, who recover fishing waste to kitchen sinks (which they do find). If you don’t fancy jumping in the sea with weights attached, it welcomes dry-land volunteers to collect and sort the rubbish for recycling.
As well as often finding (released) live creatures abandoned in crab and lobster pots, it also finds glass bottles, tin cans, spark plugs, umbrellas, golf balls and torch batteries.
Litter-Picking Fishing Boat Volunteers
Fishing for Litter has volunteers worldwide that work on fishing boats. They receive bags to fill up, then return to port for recycling. Any fleet can join up.
So far fleets in England have removed removed hundreds of tonnes of marine litter from our ocean (along with textile and scrap metal, which can be sold for extra income).
Be Wary of Ocean Clean-Up Machines
Ocean-clean-up machines sound good, as they collect floating marine life (‘neuston’) but could be doing more harm than good. As sea plastic is too small to be collected by machines, other creatures may be caught in the operation.
More hopeful solutions are ‘seabins’ that suck up marine trash (but can be almost immediately emptied back in the ocean so wildlife can escape). And ‘Water wheels’ (placed at river ends to move at very slow pace, so creatures/fish can move away in time).
The sentiment is there, but we must be careful to avoid ‘gadgets’ being the answer.
