It is grand to see programs such as this.
'Ghost Gear,' or Abandoned Fishing Equipment, Is Haunting the Oceans. Here's How Conservationists Are Fighting Back
Discarded nets, lines and traps are a hazard to marine life and ecosystems around the world, but pioneering programs are tackling the problem creatively through education, prevention, ocean cleanups and recycling.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ghost-gear-or-abandoned-fishing-equipment-is-haunting-the-oceans-heres-how-conservationists-are-fighting-back-180987605/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Olivia Ferrari October 31, 2025
From beaches across Mexico, groups of women in diving gear who call themselves sirenas, or mermaids, are taking on the ocean's ghosts.
Starting their days at 6 a.m., they search for and remove one of the most dangerous types of ocean pollution: "ghost gear," or abandoned fishing equipment. The women work with a Conservation International-Mexico program that trains and certifies divers to tackle this growing problem............................
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Ghost gear even forms the majority of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Of the tens of thousands of tons of large plastics accumulated in the north Pacific Ocean's gyre full of trash, between 75 and 86 percent is thought to be fishing nets and ropes.
Lost nets, traps and fishing lines can entangle sea turtles, fish and marine mammals, killing them when they're unable to escape. Discarded fishing rope is also a major source of microplastics in the ocean, since it can shed tiny plastic fragments, which then end up inside the bodies of fish and other creatures. Abandoned fishing gear can ensnare coral reefs -- breaking pieces loose, blocking sunlight and disrupting the flow of water around the reef ecosystem...............................
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A ghost net covers a reef habitat underwater. © Shin Arunrugstichai, Global Ghost Gear Initiative