Prevent ghost fishing waste (save marine creatures)
Ghost fishing waste is anything that’s left in the sea or on the seabed after fishing (nets, creel/lobster/crab pots, longlines and monofilament line.
Some is dumped at sea, some is lost and some accidentally gets sliced off ships. A buoy line may catch on a sharp edge, or a trap dragged by a passing vessel and tears free.
All fishing waste can harm seabirds and marine creatures. Fishing line and nets are made from nylon (plastic) so never breaks down. And nets to pots can trap marine creatures.
Once loose, ghost gear can catch not just wildlife, but batter habitats used for shelter and breeding. The plastics break down into microplastics and are ingested by marine creatures and fish (and humans that eat them).
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 reefs, seagrass and seabeds
Ghost fishing waste doesn’t only injure animals directly. It also breaks the places that keep marine life abundant. Drifting nets can snag on reefs and tear at coral and rocky outcrops. Sea turtles eat seagrass, and often ghost fishing wase lands on their feeding grounds.
How to prevent ghost fishing waste
Although volunteer beach cleans can help, the best way is prevention.
Some people are trying to invent biodegradable fishing gear (nets used to be made from hemp). But for now:
- Label your gear: Mark pots, creels, and buoys (to return lost kit).
- Record locations: Log GPS points when you set gear.
- Keep clear of high-traffic routes and sharp ground.
- Adjust or postpone journeys if rough conditions are forecast.
- Use the right buoy lines and knots, splices and clips.
- Retrieve promptly: Shorter soak times reduce loss.
Report loss early at local harbour authorities, fisheries offices and coastguards, with clear descriptions of last known locations and whether hooks, traps or nets were involved.
Ideas to help prevent ghost fishing waste
- Monomaster lets you store fishing gear, until you find a recycling station.
- Ask councils or businesses to sponsor Terracycle’s Sports Equipment Box (also accepts fishing rods and nets). Just send everything off.
- 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 creatures becoming trapped from pots and lines).
Where to report ghost fishing waste
If you see nets, lines, or pots on a beach or near a slipway, keep safe and then look careful. As sometimes live creatures may be inside and could bite. Call British Marine Life Rescue for advice.
Take photos and note locations, then report to the harbour office, local council and ghost gear programmes near you:
- For divers
- For fishing crews
- Waterhaul (report lost fishing nets and find emergency contacts for entangled marine creatures).
- Ecotribo (also report ghost nets)
Your local council has a legal duty to remove litter on public land, no matter who dropped it. On private land, it can serve litter abatement orders (for landowners to remove it, or bill for clean-up).
Volunteer to remove ghost fishing waste
If you wish to join the movement to rid the world of ghost fishing waste, carry a tough bag and container to protectc from sharps, wear gloves and use aa Waterhaul knife (made from fishing waste) to safely remove it.
It includes a 65mm serrated section to cut tough ropes and nets, with a rounded tip for safety. Built to last a lifetime, rinse and dry the blade after use. And regularly oil and sharpen, for best results.
Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners has volunteer drivers, who recover fishing waste (it welcomes dry-land volunteers to sort and collect rubbish). As well as finding live crabs and lobsters, it has also found glass bottles, tin cans, spark plugs, umbrellas, golf balls and torch batteries.
Fishing for Litter works worldwide with fishing crews to collect litter while out on fishing expeditions. This is returned to shore and recycled at special bins.
Many are concerned that ocean-clean-up machines could collect tiny creatures that are too small to go through filters.
All these inventions have good heart, but nearly all of them capture small marine creatures. Sea bins have been found to catch creatures, as have slow-moving water wheels (which can also attract nesting birds).
The safest way is simply doing it by hand, like the fishing crews above.
