December 7, 2022 — A ghost gear removal competition, hosted by the Azores tuna fishery, has resulted in a plastic-neutral status for the islands’ pole-and-line fishery for the 2022 fishing season.
The competition picked up 735 kilograms of marine litter, with 620.65 kilograms of that total being fishing gear, according to the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF). Ghost gear is fishing gear that has been abandoned, lost, or discarded at sea that entrap animals, snag on sensitive habitats, spread disease, and contribute to an invasion of alien species.