Australia becomes the 24th country to sign up to the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, with AU$1.4 million commitment to regional action
Australia’s Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, has announced that Australia has joined the Ocean Conservancy’s Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI).
The GGGI is the world’s largest alliance dedicated to solving the problem of abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear – ALDFG, also known as ‘ghost gear’ – a major source of ocean plastic pollution and one of the most deadly.
The Australian government also announced that it will be investing AUD $1.4 million toward regional action on ghost fishing nets in the Arafura and Timor Seas.
Equipment loss occurs wherever fishing takes place and for a variety of reasons. It is often cut loose by rough weather, snagging beneath the surface, or being accidentally run over by marine traffic.
Once free it will continue to catch marine life, and will often drift into reefs and shipwrecks on the sea floor where it becomes a hazard for both the animals for which the area is a habitat and, occasionally, the divers who visit.
Abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear represents up to 86 per cent of all macroplastics (plastic pieces visible to the naked eye), with an estimated 5.7 per cent of fishing nets, 8.6 per cent of traps and pots, and 29 per cent of fishing lines ending up lost or abandoned in the marine environment each year.
More about ghost gear:
- Ocean Conservancy calls on UN for better ghost gear protections
- Ghost Fishing UK recover 1500kg of lost fishing gear from Shetland waters
- Ghost fishing heads to Shetland to tackle ‘nightmare nets’
- Ocean Conservancy: five products to eliminate for plastic-free beaches
- Whale asks divers to free it from plastic entanglement
Ocean Conservancy research has found that ghost gear is the single deadliest form of marine debris, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that an up to 30 per cent decline in some fish stocks can be attributed to ghost gear.
‘Ghost gear is the deadliest form of marine debris and a critical part of solving the ocean plastics pollution crisis,’ said Hannah Pragnell-Raasch, a Policy Specialist for Ocean Conservancy.
‘We are thrilled that Australia has joined the Global Ghost Gear Initiative and is proactively supporting neighbouring countries in the Asia Pacific to address ghost gear.
‘This is particularly timely as we prepare for the final round of plastics treaty negotiations taking place next month in Busan, South Korea, where we have been working with Member States to include specific provisions to prevent and mitigate the impacts of plastic fishing and aquaculture gear.’
The 23 other member countries of the GGGI include Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Germany, Iceland, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Panama, Samoa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, United States, and Vanuatu.
