Ghost net

Turtle caught in a ghost net

A mummified bird (Gannet) caught in a ghost net, next to a breeding one.

Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been lost or left by fishermen. These nets then float around in the sea, or they end up attached to a rock or other structure. This poses a problem because the nets continue working. Fish and other animals get caught, and then starve, or die of other causes. Since most nets use plastic, they take a long time to decay. In addition, the nets may release toxic substances while they decay.

Since 1997, there has been a large pile of plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of miles wide. People used to think it was made of pieces of plastic that ordinary people threw away. However, in 2018, scientists found that it was mostly lost fishing nets and other fishing tools from large fishing boats.

Ghost Net Media

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  A sea turtle entangled in a ghost net.

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  Many marine species including turtles, sharks, whales, dolphins, and dugongs become entangled in ghost nets. Most go unnoticed and unrecorded.

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  A glass float on the beach. Many of these floats for fish nets wash up on island beaches around the Pacific. The loss of the floats can leave fish nets drifting in the open ocean where they continue to entangle fish, birds, and marine mammals.