Bureo makes skateboards made from recycled fishing waste.
Ghost fishing waste (nets, rope etc) is believed to kill at least 1000 whales, seals, dolphins, sea turtles and sea birds each day. One single net in the North Pacific had dead seabirds (99), fish (200) and sharks (2) inside. Although years ago, nets were made from biodegradable hemp, today they are made from nylon (plastic) which does not break down. More wildlife choke on fishing hooks or get tangled in rope. Photographer Francis Perez shocked the world with his disturbing photo of a creature tangled up in ghost fishing waste (he then untangled the creature who swam to safety).
Mooring buoys are used to keep sailors safe, but can be dangerous for seagrass beds, where sea turtles feed. Anchors from boats can also scour the seabed. New Advanced Mooring Systems are being used that do the same job, but without damage to the ocean floor. They use elastic to lift chains off the seabed even at low tide, and a helical screw over a weighted anchor (load-tested so boaters can hold vessels in place). The project is being used in Norfolk to protect native spiny seahorses!
ways to prevent ghost fishing waste
Fishing for Litter gives hard-wearing bags to fishermen, who collect marine litter, which is recycled at the harbour. All costs are covered. GhostFishing UK and Neptune’s Army are run by volunteer divers, who collect discarded fishing gear and other items (the latter did indeed once find a kitchen sink).
One must be careful regarding ‘ocean cleaning devices’. Although invented for good intentions, reports suggest that these items (that use technology to clean plastic from the oceans) suck up marine creatures at a rate of around one per every 3 littered items.
Ryan Stuart says ‘removing plastic from the ocean is a losing game’ and suggests what we should do instead. He notes of marine biologists who have expressed concern over using ‘technology’ to clean up ocean plastic (most of which cannot be collected, as it is broken down into millions of pieces of microplastics, with just 3% of the world’s ocean plastic floating on the surface). Instead, he suggests the solutions are more long-term and organic than that: use less plastic, recycle it properly after use, and volunter to clean up a beach, river or canal in your community or abroad.
issues with recycled fishing waste
Collecting fishing waste from the sea and making it into new items if of course, a good idea in theory. But you have to be careful what you buy. Ocean Plastic Pots makes pots from collected ocean rope and fishing nets. See toxic plants and toxic houseplants to avoid near pets and don’t face plants near outdoor foliage, to help stop birds flying into windows.
Skateboards, clothes pegs and other wipe-clean items are good. But if you buy items that have to be washed (clothing, swimsuits) or items that could drop in the sea (flops, sunglasses, phone cases), you basically create the same issue. Towels made from recycled plastic leave microplastic particles on the sand, long after you leave.
95% of all plastic waste in the sea is not on the surface, but millions of microplastics that are made by conventional plastics breaking down over years, to be invisible (and then eaten by marine creatures). Far better to buy wipe-clean items than clothing (or use a microplastic catcher). Two good brands that make wipe-clean items from fishing waste are Sedna Carpet and Nuoceans (sandals to wear in the garden, not at the beach in case you lost one in a wave!)
how to (safely) recycle fishing line
Of course this is the preventive measure. Less people are eating fish in the west, though billions are still eaten worldwide. If you are an angler, take all your waste with you and set up a local recycling scheme. Discarded fishing line harms marine creatures. If you go angling, take all your fishing waste with you, and set up a local recycling scheme or safely dispose of all fishing waste in a secure bin when back to shore. 400 million metres of fishing line are discarded each year in the UK alone, with heavy monofilament taking 600 years to biodegrade.
The problem is that most fishing line bins look like nesting sites for birds, so this can cause more harm. Stow It Don’t Throw It is a fishing line recycling bin designed by scientists as an alternative, made from old tennis ball cans. Fishing line can later be disposed of in proper recycling bins.
Monomaster (the Netherlands) is a nifty little eco gadget to store waste nylon monofilament out of harms way in your vest pocket or tackle box. Just feed one end in the slit, turn the handle and store in the container. At home, push the handle sideways with your thumb, take off the cap, take out the spindle, cut the line and throw away. Once cleaned, replace the spindle and cap, and it’s ready to use again.
