calls ‘ghost webs’ these are an out-of-control problem that has been digitized globally for the first time. About 2% of commercial fishing gear is at sea each year, where it becomes a major component of global marine plastic pollution and is also a death trap for many species, therefore subject to a slow and painful death.
According to research conducted by scientific institutions in Australia, the mass of fishing gear lost in the world’s oceans each year is long enough to circumnavigate the Earth 18 laps.
Research estimates are almost 2% of commercial fishing gear is lost or discarded at sea each yearWhere it has become a major component of global marine plastic pollution, it is a serious danger to wildlife. The cumulative effect of this situation makes it increasingly difficult to solve this problem from year to year.
abandoned fishing gear
Denise Hardesty, a scientist at Australia’s national research agency CSIRO, said the research is the most comprehensive study ever done on the amount of fishing gear that has been abandoned, lost or discarded globally to date.
“We discovered that 14 billion longline hooks, 25 million pots and traps and almost 740,000 km longline ends up in our oceans through their activities. world commercial fishing Every year,” Hardesty said in a statement.
The research used global fisheries data and interviews with them. 450 fishermen from seven countries of the worldIncluding the USA, Indonesia and Morocco. The surveys looked at the five main types of fishing gear, how much equipment is used and lost per year, and the characteristics of the equipment and ships that suffer these losses.
They are usually lost more equipment on smaller fishing boatsand bottom trolls they lost more nets than surface trolls.
Economic, environmental and social impacts
To date, information on how much fishing gear has been lost in the oceans has been limited. As gear loss has significant economic, environmental and social impacts, this research will assist local and global fisheries management and policy interventions.
“The data collected to create these estimates comes directly from fishermen and allows for an understanding of gear losses at the source,” said Kelsey Richardson, lead author of the paper.
“There has been a sharp increase in global fishing activity, but at the same time developments in fishing technologiesincluding better systems for mark, track and rescue fishing gearRichardson stated.
“Our updated forecasts help to see where efforts should be focused to support fisheries management and management responses to come up with solutions to reduce fishing gear ending up in our oceans,” he said.
Reference work: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq0135
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