October 13, 2022 — It’s known as “ghost gear.” Abandoned traps, aimlessly drifting nets, and other lost fishing equipment can haunt the ocean for years, ensnarling and killing whales, turtles, and other marine creatures. The magnitude of the problem has been hard to quantify, but a new study provides the first solid global estimate of the amount of equipment lost each year: enough nets to cover Scotland, for example, and fishing line that could wrap around the equator 400 times.
These losses have been “a cryptic issue that’s been out of sight, out of mind,” says marine scientist Kirk Havens of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), who was not involved in the study. Lost traps and nets are “going to capture and kill things,” he adds. “That’s what they’re made for.”
The comprehensive new findings, researchers say, could help both conservation and fishing organizations track their progress toward protecting the seas from lost gear.
Kelsey Richardson, a marine and social scientist, first grasped the enormity of lost fishing gear while working in the Pacific Islands region for an intergovernmental organization. The regulators in charge of fishing there required vessels to host observers, who recorded losses of fishing gear. The data and findings were unique—and concerning because they showed how frequently boats at sea lost hooks, fishing lines, ropes, and nets.
