Ghost Fishing is defined as the ability of fishing gear to continue catching after all control over it has been lost. This gear, which may be lost, discarded, or abandoned, continues to capture and kill wildlife. Examples include fishing nets, traps, longlines, ropes, or other equipment left behind by fishers. These tools, often nearly invisible in low light and murky ocean waters, trap and entangle marine animals, potentially killing them, damaging habitats, and posing navigation hazards.
Abandoned ghost nets become death traps for almost any animal that comes into contact with this forgotten equipment. Nets may entangle an animal, and if it's a mammal or sea turtle, they prevent it from surfacing for air, causing the animal to drown slowly and die.
Alarming Statistics
According to World Animal Protection (WAP), approximately 640,000 tons of fishing gear are abandoned in the oceans every year. A 2009 United Nations study found that ghost fishing gear constitutes 10% (640,000 tons) of global marine debris.
A recent NOAA study estimated that over 85,000 ghost lobster and crab traps are scattered across the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary alone. On a typical summer day, 250,000 crab pots are deployed in Chesapeake Bay, where an estimated 30% of the traps are lost each season due to propeller cuts, wave action, or currents.
Economic and Environmental Costs
The WWF's 2019 report on plastic pollution in the Mediterranean found that ghost fishing and plastic pollution cause annual losses of €641 million, distributed as follows:
- €268 million in tourism losses
- €235 million in marine industry losses
- €138 million in fisheries losses
Globally, ghost fishing threatens over 700 marine species, contributing to:
- 35% of seabird losses
- 27% of fish declines
- 20% of invertebrate deaths
- 13% of marine mammal fatalities
- 5% of reptile mortality
The Mediterranean Basin alone produces 0.57 million tons of plastic waste annually—the equivalent of 33,800 plastic bottles per minute. About 247 billion plastic pieces float on its waters, a number expected to quadruple by 2050.
Contributing Factors
- Tourism accounts for 30% of plastic waste during summer.
- Top contributors to Mediterranean plastic waste:
- Egypt (42%)
- Turkey (18.9%)
- Italy (7.5%)
Challenges and Solutions
The abandonment of commercial fishing gear is one of the most problematic sources of marine debris. Marking fishing gear can significantly mitigate this phenomenon for two main reasons:
- Identifying lost gear locations
- Assigning ownership to gear when abandoned, lost, or discarded
Enhanced awareness of the navigation risks posed by abandoned fishing gear, along with commercially available recovery technologies, bolsters efforts to reduce ghost fishing's harmful impact on fish stocks and endangered species.
Innovations in Combatting Ghost Fishing
- Satellite-Powered Solar Buoys
- Provide extended operation time and unlimited range
- Can include GPS receivers, temperature sensors, and acoustic devices for data transmission
- Biodegradable Fishing Nets
- Made from 82% Polybutylene Succinate (PBS) and 18% Polybutylene Adipate-Co-Terephthalate (PBAT)
- Begin biodegrading after 24 months in seawater
- Perform comparably to nylon nets during actual fishing, despite lower breaking strength and higher stiffness
- Laser-Etched Nano-Sized Tags
- Implanted into fishing ropes without affecting performance
- Detectable with specialized sensors
- Combatting Illegal Fishing
- Properly marked gear linked to ships or registries aids fisheries law enforcement
- Prevents vessels from discarding gear irresponsibly during inspections
The Path Forward
Marking gear effectively in crowded marine areas is essential for protecting ecosystems. Fishers benefit from reduced risks of lost catches, expensive gear loss, and time spent retrieving missing equipment. As FAO fisheries expert Francis Chopin noted, this momentum underscores the need for guidelines to address ghost fishing effectively.