Ghost Gear Report - 11

WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?
Generally, fishers don't want to lose their gear - although a significant amount is discarded deliberately to conceal illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, or when it's no longer functional.
For most fishers, their gear is their livelihood and can represent a considerable financial investment. But
even in the best managed fisheries, fishing gear is lost or abandoned due to weather, mechanical problems
or human error. A recent study estimated that 5.7% of all fishing nets, 8.6% of traps and pots, and
29% of all fishing lines used globally are abandoned, lost or discarded into the environment21.
Nevertheless, there are many examples of effective actions being taken all over the world to
reduce impacts from ghost gear through collaborations between fishers, fishing industry partners,
ports, NGOs, researchers, governments and intergovernmental organizations. At an international level,
the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), an alliance of more than 100 organizations including WWF, was
formed in 2015.
To develop effective strategies to combat ghost gear, it's important to consider the root causes of gear
loss, and to recognize the safety, economic and conservation issues fishers must work with.
Preventing fishing gear loss is the top priority, with education, voluntary measures and regulations all
having a role to play. Prevention measures include restricting the use of high-risk gear in certain areas or
times of year, marking fishing gear so it's clearly visible and the owner can be identified, and improving end-of-life disposal and recycling.
Even so, some fishing gear will inevitably get lost, so it's important to adopt mitigation measures.
Including biodegradable components so the gear breaks down quickly is one effective way to prevent
ghost fishing22,23,24,25,26. Biodegradable components are already used in some shellfish traps and fish aggregating devices (FADs), though more research is needed into biodegradable nets and other gear.
Finally, since plastic gear can have long-lasting impacts, it's important to remove and retrieve as much
lost and abandoned gear as possible, though this can be expensive, particularly in deep-sea habitats. Programmes for reporting and retrieving lost gear already operate in some places, and "fish for litter" schemes
- which reward fishers for bringing back marine debris, including ghost gear - are growing in popularity.

GLOBAL ACTION
Although ghost gear and plastic pollution are global problems, we don't yet have an
international treaty dedicated to tackling the issue. Existing laws are fragmented and ineffective.
Leaders from more than 40 countries as well as more than 1.8 million people around the world have
already joined the call for a global agreement on marine plastic pollution. We need more governments to
support a new UN treaty on marine plastic pollution that includes effective global governance of
ghost gear.

Ghost Gear Report

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ghost Gear Report