It is estimated that around 640,000 tonnes of ghost gear is left in our oceans annually, taking up to 600 years to decompose. It makes up around 10% of all the plastic waste in the ocean. Over 100,000 whales, dolphins, seals and turtles get caught up in ghost gear annually.
We need to focus on the 3 R’s;
Reduce the amount of ghost gear entering the oceans, by fisherman working in partnership with governments and other organisations
Remove as much ghost gear from our oceans as possible
Rescue the animals who are affected, by supporting groups such as the British Divers Marine Life Rescue.
The problem of ghost gear is right here on our own doorstep. We’ve been sent some photographs of seals trapped in old netting by volunteers of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. We want to raise awareness of this issue, as many people don’t see old fishing gear as plastic pollution. The ropes and nets are all plastic, and break down into even smaller pieces of plastic. Pieces of rope and netting are littered all over our beaches, and we’ve seen an enormous amount of lobster pots washed up too. Many of these are plastic.
The good news is we can all do something about this. If you see an abandoned lobster pot or net on the beach, and it’s safe and easy to remove, then please remove it from the beach. Take it off the beach entirely so the next high tide doesn’t wash it back into the sea. If it’s stuck in sand or rocks and you can’t remove it, please contact us and we’ll try and get it removed. If you plan to visit the beach, please take a bag and fill it with plastic, including old rope, and remove it from the beach. Fishermen can also help by removing ghost gear floating out at sea. Fishermen in Kerala, India, are actively fishing to remove plastic from their oceans.
If you can’t physically help out, you can help campaign on-line. World Animal Protection are trying to get supermarkets to work with their fish suppliers to stop ghost gear. You can help by sharing their posts. There are many other on-line petitions you can sign or share to raise awareness and support.
You can get in touch with us on FaceBook under LitterBugs, or email us – litterbugsnorthumberland@gmail.com
To contact BDMLR call 01825 765546