derelict fishing gear

Today, NOAA Marine Debris Program partner, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), announced ten grants totaling $1,157,788 that will support the removal and disposal of an estimated 330,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear.

The southern shoreline of Hawai‘i is inundated with plastic pollution - to the point that one area, routinely cleaned by volunteers, is sadly known as “Plastic Beach.” Hawai'i Wildlife Fund is committed to caretaking this culturally rich stretch of coastline and restoring its proper name: Kamilo Point. 

Winter storms are fierce and powerful along the coast of the Pacific Northwest, capable of moving fishing gear far from where it was deployed. The peak of the Dungeness crab season is in the dead of winter, coinciding with storm season, a major contributor for gear loss. Lost crab pots and other derelict fishing gear harm the environment, pose a risk to navigation, and negatively impact the economy.

Lost and discarded fishing gear is hazardous, and can be a difficult marine debris problem to address. Once lost, nets, lines, and traps can entangle wildlife, create major hazards to navigation, and damage sensitive and important habitats. Because gear can have few identifying characteristics, it can be difficult to track its location, or find its source. In order to reduce the impacts to coastal habitats from derelict fishing gear (DFG), the NOAA Marine Debris Program funds projects that remove and prevent the continued impacts of fishing debris.

Believe it or not, but it’s already August and summer seems to be flying by! Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to enjoy the warm weather by spending some time outdoors with your family and friends. Perhaps you’re planning on spending these last dog days partaking in one of summer’s most popular activities—fishing.

Fishing is a fun activity to enjoy with family, friends, or for some peaceful time alone. Unfortunately, fishing gear and fishing-related items are commonly found as marine debris in our environment, but thankfully, there are ways to enjoy this tradition without contributing to marine debris.

While the Northeast region of the U.S. is home to several large population centers that create large amounts of consumer debris, there is also a marine debris issue lurking beneath the ocean surface. Derelict fishing gear is a prevalent problem in most of the Northeast states.

Lost or discarded fishing gear that is no longer under a fisherman’s control becomes known as derelict fishing gear (DFG), and it can continue to trap and kill fish, crustaceans, marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds. Factors that cause gear to become DFG include poor weather conditions, gear conflicts with other vessels or bottom topography, or the use of old, worn gear.

By: Sherry Lippiatt, California Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program

The Channel Islands offshore of Southern California are a special place with tremendous biodiversity and cultural significance, and home to the Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS). The islands are situated within 60 miles of 18 million people, yet receive relatively few human visitors, harbor 175 miles of undeveloped coastline, and provide habitat for numerous marine mammals, threatened birds, and other species unique to the area. Unfortunately, due to their location and orientation, the Channel Islands are also a local sink for marine debris that enters the Santa Barbara Channel.

By: Nir Barnea, Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program

To most residents and visitors in the Pacific Northwest, marine debris is what they see on the beautiful beaches of Oregon and Washington: items such as plastic consumer debris, commercial packaging, and even balloons. Luckily, agencies and NGOs including CoastSavers, Grassroots Garbage Gang,  Oregon SOLVE, and the Oregon Marine Debris Team have collaborated together and with the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) for years to prevent and remove this debris, much of it arriving from around the Pacific to the sparsely-populated Pacific Northwest coast. Another form of marine debris, derelict fishing gear, is less visible, but still harmful to the environment, commerce, and navigation. Derelict crab pots, shrimp traps, and lost nets and lines can entangle marine wildlife, harm the sea floor upon which they rest, pose a risk to navigation, and even threaten human safety.

Derelict fishing nets are a big marine debris problem. These nets can entangle wildlife, create major hazards to navigation, and can damage sensitive and important habitats. Unfortunately, they can also be difficult to address as they often have few identifying characteristics. This makes determining their source challenging and makes derelict nets difficult to track.

Derelict fishing nets are a particularly large problem in the Hawaiian archipelago, due to Hawaii’s geographic location in the North Pacific Gyre and Convergence Zone and the large amounts of fishing that occurs domestically and internationally in the Pacific. The North and East Coast shorelines of each Hawaiian Island are the most impacted, due to the northeast trade winds that blow this debris ashore.