February 23, 2026 — Commercial fishing for shellfish, lobster, and finfish is an economic driver for many coastal communities along the Atlantic Coast, including ports in southern New England. Much of the gear now used in these fisheries is made of plastic, and lots of it is lost at sea every year.
It has been estimated, for example, that between 5% and 15% of lobster gear is lost annually to storms, propellers, and accidents. Since commercial fishing gear is used in harsh conditions it requires frequent replacement and is expensive to dispose of, some of it is deliberately dumped. Either way, all the fisheries are represented in the world’s stock of derelict fishing gear, more commonly called ghost gear.
Some 500,000 to a million tons of fishing gear is estimated to be lost at sea every year, and this ghost gear makes up 10% of all marine debris. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program has collected 2,000 tons (4 million pounds) of gear from 56 locations in U.S. waters.
This lost gear ranges from monofilament and braided fishing lines to ropes and nets to pots and traps. This jumble of commercial fishing equipment can be catastrophic for ocean life, ensnaring fish and marine mammals and endangering sea turtles.