Ghost Gear

Ghost gear refers to fishing gear that has been lost, dislodged or abandoned at sea. It is estimated that between 50 and 100 million tonnes of ghost gear end up in the ocean each year.^*1.

In Japan, fishing nets are the largest source of marine plastic waste in recent years.^*2.

Most common fishing gear is made of highly durable plastic, so once it is released into the ocean, it will continue to drift forever. As a result, many marine organisms get caught or entangled in the drifting fishing gear, suffocating, weakening, and dying in agony. This situation is called "ghost fishing" because organisms are caught without fishermen, and it causes serious damage to the marine ecosystem.

In addition to causing economic damage to fishermen by losing expensive fishing gear, they also pose a threat to the safety of navigation by becoming obstacles at sea.

The main causes of fishing gear loss are said to be accidental loss at sea ("lost"), intentional disposal ("dumping"), and intentional non-recovery ("abandonment").

Dumping and abandonment are sometimes used to conceal IUU fishing,IUU FishingGhost gear is said to be closely related to the lack of suitable disposal sites on land and the high disposal costs, which is also why fishing gear is often dumped.

To combat the ghost gear problem, it is important to take a multifaceted and comprehensive approach, first to prevent fishing gear from being lost (prevention), then to reduce damage (mitigation) by adopting fishing gear designs that will not entangle organisms on or in the sea if it does become lost, and finally to ensure that any lost fishing gear is reported and collected (recovery).

At the same time, international frameworks and legislation are also needed, but existing frameworks are fragmented, unified and insufficient.

The Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) is the world's largest initiative working to solve the problem of ghost gear. It is made up of a diverse range of participants, including the fishing industry, private sector, private companies, NGOs, academia, and governments, and each sector works together to find solutions from both a global and local perspective.

*1　https://www.wwf.or.jp/activities/data/20210728_wildlife01.pdf　(From p.10)
*2　https://www.env.go.jp/water/marirne_litter/conf/02_02doukou.pdf

<References>
https://www.wwf.or.jp/activities/data/20210728_wildlife01.pdf
https://www.ghostgear.org/resources
https://www.nissui.co.jp/news/202006042.html
https://www.ecodane.jp/plastics-smart/house-trash.html