A coral reef destroyed by a ghost fishing net that has smothered all life beneath it.
Your new pair of sneakers or sunglasses may have once been a tangled crusty mess of fishing net on the bottom of the ocean. New products made from ocean plastics are popping up on the market, giving new purpose to old trash. According to a new report by Greenpeace, more than 640,000 tons, or approximately 10% of all plastic marine debris, is comprised of ghost gear.
Ghost gear is abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). This can be traps, nets, lines, and pots that end up right where they’re not supposed to be; floating in ocean currents or snagged on reefs and wrecks along the seafloor. Hundreds of kilometers of nets and line get lost each year, and continue to catch fish and marine life as long as they stay submerged. Ghost gear removal and recycling efforts are creating new life from trash and putting recycled products on the market.
Derelict fishing gear, or ‘ghost nets’, cause needless injury and death to many marine species. Floating in the water, ghost nets entangle many animals including whales, sea turtles and fish. Entangled animals attract other species that then get trapped as well. When nets become heavy enough, they get snagged on reefs and wrecks. Sinking to the bottom, they smother the habitat that they land on and their destructive path continues. Ghost gear can end up in the ocean for many reasons. Improper maintenance, unexpected weather conditions and the high cost of retrieval can all result in gear becoming lost or abandoned.
Sea lion pup entangled in fishing line
Fortunately where there’s a problem there is always an army of people fighting for a solution. For the issue of ghost gear, the solution lies in the removal of gear from the water to prevent these accidental entanglements. For-profit companies, non-profit organizations and networks of divers are all involved in the clean-up efforts.
The first step in tackling the problem is preventing gear from becoming lost or discarded at sea in the first place. Organizations that address the ghost gear issue work with fishermen and fish farms to dispose of nets and other fishing materials responsibly before they can become marine trash. One such organization called Net Your Problem collects old gear and sends it off to companies that melt down and recycle the plastics. Diverting derelict gear from the landfill and the ocean prevents it from being lost, discarded improperly or abandoned. Additionally it enables fishermen and fish farms to become active participants in preventing marine debris.
The second step is removing gear from the water that has already been lost or discarded. This is done mostly by hand by trained scuba divers and fishers. Healthy Seas is an initiative that brings non-governmental organizations and for-profit businesses together to collect, recycle and repurpose ghost gear. Scuba divers carefully remove gear from reefs and wrecks where it tends to become entangled. Fishing gear, typically made from nylon, is then sent to recycling facilities where it is sorted, shredded, cleaned, and made into plastic pellets or spun into yarn for carpets and textiles.
A scuba diver holds up an old fishing net found on the sea floor. Special skills and training are ... [+]
A new market for these so called ‘green plastics’ is emerging and many companies are buying into the movement. Adidas recently released a shoe partially made from ocean plastics, and swimsuits made from ghost nets collected by scuba divers are now on the market. Products such as skateboards, sunglasses, athleisure wear and jewelry are also being produced from old fishing gear.
The process involved in turning ghost gear into plastic pellets is labor-intensive and rather new. Nylon has to be separated from other materials such as steel or mixed plastic gear components. After sorting out the useable parts of the gear, it is power-washed and dried before being sent to an industrial shredder.
Companies that create products with recycled fishing gear are working hard to decrease costs, create infrastructure and scale up green plastic recycling efforts. Removing ghost gear from the ocean is important, but these innovative companies aren’t stopping there. The nets that once lay useless and destructive at the bottom of the ocean are now making their way back into the economy while raising awareness for a pressing marine issue.
