Abandoned fishing gear continues to kill - study for Ocean's conference May 11, Indonesia

[Annces]

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 6, 2009 (ENS) - Long after fishing gear is lost at sea or abandoned by fishers it continues to harm the marine environment, depleting fish populations through "ghost fishing" and posing a hazard to ships, finds a new joint report released today by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and UN Environment Programme.

The new report comes as nations prepare to gather for next week's World Oceans Conference in Manado, Indonesia, where the restoration of healthy marine environments will be high on the agenda.

The report finds that most fishing gear is not deliberately discarded but is lost in storms or strong currents or results from gear conflicts - fishing with nets, for instance, in areas where bottom traps that can entangle them are already deployed.


A ling cod entangled in a ghost net (Photo by Pete Naylor courtesy REEF)
In the past, poorly operated drift nets were the prime culprits, but a 1992 ban on their use in many areas has reduced their contribution to ghost fishing.

Gill nets, fishing pots and traps are most likely to "ghost fish," continuing to catch continued fish, turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals, which are trapped in the nets and die, according to the report.

In the largest U.S. estuary, Chesapeake Bay, an estimated 150,000 crab traps are lost each year out of an estimated 500,000 total deployed.

On just the single Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, about 20,000 of all traps set each year are lost each hurricane season – a loss rate of 50 percent. Like gill nets, these traps can continue to fish on their own for long periods of time.

Longlines are more likely to ensnare other marine organisms and trawls are most likely to damage sub-sea habitats.

The problem of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear is getting worse due to the increased scale of global fishing operations and the introduction of highly durable fishing gear made of long-lasting synthetic materials, the two UN agencies report.

full article
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2009/2009-05-06-01.asp







(It seems to be there should be strict rules and enforcement. The whole subject is treated as if people get to decide themselves if they want to harm the environment or not, their choice).