Giving Compass' Take:
- Discarded fishing gear, also known as "ghost gear," makes up 10 percent of plastic in the ocean, and is an issue that requires collective action.
- The Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) was created in 2015 to address the ocean plastic pollution problem. How can this group create awareness about ghost gear specifically?
- Read more about the fight against ocean plastic pollution.
What is Giving Compass?
We connect donors to learning resources and ways to support community-led solutions. Learn more about us.
While most of us might not think about ghosts again until next Halloween, the same can’t be said for ocean activists and fishers.
According to a new report by Greenpeace, abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) — commonly known as "ghost gear" — makes up about 10 percent of the plastic waste in the world’s oceans. That’s more than 640,000 tons of nets, lines, pots and traps used in commercial fishing, dumped and discarded in the seas every year. For a not-so-festive visual, it’s the same weight as more than 50,000 double-decker buses. Now that’s what I call spooky.
As you probably know by now, the public concern and push-back about the rising tide of plastics entering landfills, clogging waterways and polluting oceans has led to a growing acknowledgement by brands, retailers, NGOs and governments, with notable action beginning to follow. As GreenBiz has covered, most of the public attention to date has been on branded trash: identifiable bottles, bags and wrappers found in beaches and gyres.
When it comes to the impact of plastic pollution on wildlife, most people will remember the viral image of a turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose. But the report has identified a less-visible culprit of ocean plastics pollution in ghost gear, which is four times more likely to impact marine life through entanglement than all other forms of marine debris combined.
In an effort to vanquish ghost gear’s environmental impact, the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) was established in 2015 to highlight the scale of the problem, promote best practices, inform policy and establish real solutions. GGCI brings together over 100 members, from global food giants Nestlé and Tesco to national governments including the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, plus a laundry list of NGOs.
Read the full article about ghost gear by Lauren Phipps at GreenBiz.