The pervasive plastic problem extends far beyond land-based consumer packaging, products, and even microplastics that enter our waters. The problem even extends beyond plastics entering our food chain. "At least half of (….ocean plastic waste) is not consumer plastics, but fishing gear," says chief scientist at the Ocean Conservancy, George Leonard.

Plastics are responsible for up to 80% of marine pollution and are the most common marine litter worldwide.

Are there solutions to rid our marine environment of the plastics that are negatively impacting everything from the fishing industry and food safety to tourism and the numerous species that depend on the ocean for their very existence?

Plastics in our oceans

According to a study in Scientific Reports, fishing nets make up 49% of the 79,000 tons of ocean plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area of debris accumulation within the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Researchers expected the plastic total to be closer to 20%.

Another study found that as much as 70% (by weight) of macroplastics (over 20 centimeters in size) found floating at the ocean's surface are related to fishing activities.

Plastics, because of their lightness, durability, buoyancy, and cost, continue to be incorporated into fishing equipment. Lost, discarded, or abandoned fishing gear, so-called 'ghost gear,' is especially deadly since it is specifically designed to entangle and catch marine life.

Fishing gear, nets, long lines, pots, and traps, packing containers, and buoys, continue to capture and kill marine life for decades. It presents significant economic challenges, is harming the fishing industry, and threatens the existence of several species and entire ecosystems.

Ghost gear is compromising the health of the world's oceans.

Abandoned lobster trap photo taken by Wildlife by Yuri

What is ghost gear and how does it end up in the ocean?

Nick Mallos, Director of the Trash Free Seas Program at Ocean Conservancy, says, "Ghost gear is the most deadly form of marine litter out there."

According to Greenpeace, six percent of all nets used, nine percent of all traps, and 29% of longlines end up loose in our waters.

The qualities that make plastic ideal for fishing gear and those that depend on the fishing industry are the same quality that enables discarded and abandoned gear to pose a deadly threat to marine life. Fishing gear captures and kills marine life regardless if humans are present or not. Spreading with ocean currents, this gear is found in coral reefs worldwide, littering the seafloor, washed up on remote islands, and floating at sea.

There are many reasons why fishing gear ends up abandoned, lost, or discarded. Still, much of the ghost gear problem stems from overcrowded fisheries, excess fishing capacity, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

Severe weather events, gear breakage, poorly maintained gear, entanglement with other fishing gear, and gear snagging on rocks, corrals, or other objects all can result in lost fishing gear.

Illegal fishing activities also contribute to abandoned gear.

Vessels fishing illegally often operate with gear not permitted in certain areas and during questionable weather conditions. Intentional discarding gear is more likely to occur when illegal fishers encounter a problem or attempt to avoid capture.

Discarded fishing gear photo taken by Wildlife by Yuri

Ghost Gear = Indiscriminate Killing

Ghost gear is responsible for indiscriminate killing - fish, turtles, sea birds, and marine mammals.

To illustrate this deadly problem's scale, a recent study estimates over 85,000 lobster and crab ghost traps in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary alone.

Gillnets are prohibited in the Upper Gulf of California because of potential threats to the endangered vaquitas that call this area home. Despite this, Sea Shepherd crews have removed over 1000 pieces of illegal gear from these waters.

Sea Shepherd's Operation Milagro campaign leader, JP Geoffroy, says, "Every net we remove from this area can mean the difference between the survival and extinction for the vaquita."

In the four years that Sea Shepherd crews have been at work patrolling the Upper Gulf of California. They have documented over 7000 animal entanglements in fishing gear and successfully rescued and released 3977 individuals. Of these, 975 animals were on the critically endangered, endangered, or threatened list, with over 100 animals rescued.

In a single incident in 2018, 300 endangered olive ridley turtles were discovered entangled in an abandoned net in Mexican waters.

Fishing gear that washes up on beaches present an added danger to some species, and sea turtles, in particular, are at risk from fishing nets onshore. A West African Island in Cabo Verde is the third most important nesting beach for loggerhead turtles. Not only do turtles become entangled when coming ashore to lay eggs, but the hatchlings can't climb over the nets to get to the ocean. Recently the Sea Shepherd's Bob Barker helped remove over 4 tons of marine debris from this area.

According to research conducted by the World Animal Protection Canada, 640,000 metric tons of fishing gear are deposited into oceans each year, resulting in over 136,000 whales, dolphins, seals, turtles, and birds, and other sea animals annually.

Animals that do escape often have open wounds and infections caused by injuries from the nets or traps. These injuries can inhibit their ability to capture food. Even corals are susceptible to entanglement and smothering; 89% of reefs containing plastic showed signs of disease while only 4% of plastic-free reefs are diseased.

From the Arctic to the Pacific Islands, ghost gear poses a significant threat. Greenpeace estimates that 640,000 tonnes of ghost gear enter oceans yearly. This ghost gear costs local economies millions of dollars by competing with fishermen for their catch, damages ships, and deters tourism, all adding up to millions of dollars lost.

What does marine plastic pollution cost society?

Some estimate plastic pollution from the fishing industry accounts for over $13 billion a year in extra costs.

The fishing industry incurs damage to propellers, rudders, engines from blocked intake pipes, and loss of catch that are entrapped in ghost gear.

Recreation, tourism, and the value of waterfront property are significantly impacted.

Some estimate the cost to be between $3,300 and 33,000 per ton of marine plastic pollution. "The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) estimates that the cost to the tourism, fishing, and shipping industries was $1.3bn in that region alone. In the U.S., communities on the west coast spend more than $520m per year to curtail litter" from beaches.

Removal of ghost gear that has washed up on land is relatively simple, not the case when attempting to retrieve gear from oceans. The cost of at-sea retrieval in oceans ranges between $65 and 25,000 per ton and requires experienced personal and retrieval gear.

In many fisheries, the number of fish being caught each day is declining. Some believe this is due to ghost gear in the area that causes the death of many fish that would usually be caught for human consumption.

The cost of derelict gear continues to rise when we look around the world becoming aware of the immense number of lives lost each day and the risks imposed on our oceans' health.

*More information on costs: Valuing Plastic: The Business Case for Measuring, Managing and Disclosing Plastic Use in the Consumer Goods Industry

Global Ocean Treaty

Make no mistake; our oceans are being threatened by plastic pollution.

Greenpeace is committed to scientific research documenting and building the case for comprehensive protection of ecosystems in international waters supporting a global ocean treaty.

"64% of our oceans lie beyond the national jurisdiction of any one nation." This vast area, known as the high seas or international waters, has no comprehensive plan to protect marine life.

The United Nations has recognized this gaping hole in ocean governance and is currently working on sweeping regulations to protect the marine life that inhabits international waters and prevent future pollution of our oceans.

Not only do we need the marine environment protected and plastics removed from our oceans, but we need to find long term solutions and alternatives to plastics.

Entangled crab photo taken by  National Ocean Service — Entangled crab photo taken by National Ocean Service

Are there any Solutions?

The race is on to educate the public about the harm plastics are inflicting, discover eco-friendly alternatives to plastics, find solutions to the challenging problem of locating and collecting the plastics and ghost gear within the oceans, then commit to recycling these materials, and protecting the oceans.

The Global Ghost Gear Initiative, which began in 2015, is a collection of governments, private corporations and organizations, the fishing industry, and academia coming together to find solutions for lost and abandoned gear. Their goal in the next ten years to recover and recycle at least as much fishing gear annually as is lost each year.

The Initiative is working with fishers and local organizations to create partnerships focused on removing gear from an ecologically sensitive habitat with the Ocean Conservancy assuming leadership of this work.

Another piece of the puzzle explored is focused on discovering the best practices for managing fishing gear.

The Best Practice Framework for the Management of Fishing Gear recommends practical solutions to prevent and mitigate lost gear impacts across the entire seafood supply chain. Case studies are being conducted on fishing policies, net recycling, and gear retrieval.

According to Mallos, some of the potential solutions include identifying fishing gear during manufacturing. GPS identification tags on gear would link back to owners. The ability to match gear to fisherman or companies could lead to penalties for lost and abandoned gear. Recycling incentives by manufacturers, buy-back programs, developing biodegradable fishing pots, and new plastics designs to make recycling simpler are also explored to reduce plastic pollution.

Many organizations are on a mission to educate the public about the harm microplastics and ghost gear imposes on the ocean ecosystem. NOAH, Greenpeace, and ocean conservation associations like Sea Shepherd are conducting grassroots educational programs and organizing scientific research to document the problem to find solutions. They are also actively removing ghost gear from our waters and beaches.

Other groups like Ghostfishing.org, a non-profit organization of divers that "collects, motivates, and initiates ghost fishing projects around the world," are increasing awareness in the global diving community. Ghostfishing.org provides links to worldwide collaborators that work to remove and recycle ghost gear.

Education and Removal Not Enough – Recycling Efforts and Eco-Friendly Alternatives

Education and the removal of plastics will go a long way in addressing plastic pollution, but it's not enough with the continued use of plastics. Eco-friendly alternatives to plastics are being explored, and recycling efforts make a dent in the abandoned gear collected.

Plastix Global is a Danish company working with Global Ghost Gear Initiative projects to turn collected gear into plastic pellets and tokens.

Net Positiva, a project in Chile, is providing drop off locations for gear then recycling fishing gear into chairs, skateboards decks, frisbees, and sunglasses.

A group called Net-works makes carpet tiles from nets.

Three entrepreneur surfers founded Bureo, a California company that creates plastic pellets from recycled fishing gear. Bureo creates outdoor goods as well as provides other companies with pellets. Bureo is also working with Jenga to create a version of the game made entirely from recycled nets bringing attention to the ongoing problem of plastics and environmental issues that fishing gear creates.

More collaboratives are beginning to take shape. Healthy Seas collects ghost nets, then Aquafil turns these fishing nets into nylon yarn they call Econyl to create sport and swimwear and carpeting. Aquafil acquires 400 – 500 tons of nets monthly, which accounts for one-quarter of their recycled materials. Econyl's creators claim it can be recycled and molded over and over, reducing the plastics in landfills.

Work is underway to discover eco-friendly alternatives to plastic.

Crab shells combined with tree material (cellulose) show potential as a sealant and alternative to PET.

A possible alternative to styrofoam is being developed from mushrooms.

A company in Germany is producing toys out of a hard plastic-like substance of pulp-based lignin, a byproduct of papermaking, mixed with wax.

Remarkably seaweed is being used as edible and biodegradable temporary packaging.

Many more innovative ways to avoid the use of plastics, create alternatives, find ways to hold individuals and companies responsible for abandoned fishing gear, and invent techniques to recycle plastics easily are needed if we are going to stem the tide of plastic pollution that is threatening our oceans and marine life.

Reduce the Pervasive Use of Plastics

Abandoned fishing gear has far-reaching impacts on wildlife and ecosystems. Research shows the majority of plastics in the marine environment come from the fishing industry.

Ghost gear doesn't just disappear with saltwater and sunlight. As gear slowly degrades, smaller plastics are introduced into the environment, but most of the harm is inflicted while the gear remains intact.

This gear harms sponges and coral as nets drag along the seafloor, continuing to kill fish, turtles, birds, and other species that become trapped or entangled - generations of sea life are impacted. Further attracting those that come for an easy meal to dine on the trapped species, these animals become victims themselves.

Just as deadly washing up on shore, fishing gear continues to entangle, strangle, and kill. Possibly a worse death comes from the injuries and inability of entangled animals to hunt for food. Slow starvation adds to the body count.

As plastics break into smaller particles, plankton, and bacteria grow on the surfaces, disguising plastic's deadly nature in the shapes and smells of edible particles.

Thousands of sea birds starve to death with bellies full of plastics. The abundant bits of plastic are fed to chicks that will not thrive or reproduce to continue their species. Their genetic diversity is lost to future generations.

Even filter-feeding species are not immune, ingesting bits of plastics with each meal, the ill effects will become too much for them. Some will succumb to the chemicals and toxins from plastics that continue to be ingested; each species higher up the food chain will suffer.

Plastics accumulating in the food chain will eventually impact those at the top of the chain, humans.

Original photo source and more information: NOAA Office of Response and Restoration — Original photo source and more information: NOAA Office of Response and Restoration

Stakes could not be any higher. The very survival of numerous species is teetering on the edge. According to Greenpeace, 12 million tons of plastics are added to our oceans every year. An estimated 100,000 marine animals are killed or injured by plastics every year. The cycle of death will continue unless we clean up the plastic pollution on land and in our waters.

The fishing industry needs to be held accountable for gear it loses. Things like GPS tracking and owner tags could assist in tracking gear back to the original users. Still the industry needs to support regulations, as well as reuse and recycle efforts. Removal of abandoned equipment, after all, benefits fishers directly by not reducing the number of fish able to be caught for human consumption and not damaging vessels.

Beyond that, every consumer needs to do their part in reducing plastic use, supporting recycling efforts, and encouraging the use of eco-friendly alternatives to plastic.

We need to speak with our dollars when making purchases. Eating seafood that is grown sustainably rather than supporting commercial fisheries that pollute our oceans. Avoid those purchases that inadvertently support the utilization of plastics. Go the extra mile to reduce our pervasive use of plastics in everyday life. Reuse, and recycle at every opportunity. Simply using cloth grocery sacks would reduce the need by at least 390 bags per household. Our quest for simple and easy access to goods drives the production of plastic. Instead of a society that is concerned with ease and disposable products, we need to take a hard look at where that has gotten us.

We need to educate ourselves and be mindful of our actions.

What do our purchases say about us?

Are we willing to spend more to buy items that are not in plastic containers and do not contain plastic parts?

Are we willing to make the trip to the recycling center instead of just throwing a plastic bottle in the trash?

Are we willing to do our homework researching which companies support a cleaner environment purchasing products from them?

Are we considering how even the smallest action impacts the world around us?

We need to use our time and dollars to invest in a future that is not only economically sustainable but protects our land, waters, and each species that inhabit the earth, so we have a safe planet for future generations of all species.

We are not removed from the harm imposed on the oceans and marine life. We are all inter-reliant, depending on even microscopic marine bacteria to produce oxygen for our very breath.

Our Marine Plastic Problem Extends Beyond Consumer Goods