Entanglement in fishing gear
A lot of marine life gets tangled up in fishing gear and plastics. A lot of the sealife gets killed because of this. When fishing a lot of animals gets caught incidentally which is called bycath. Approximately 40% of all animals caught in fisheries are discarded as trash. This forms a great threat to marine life.
How get animals entangled in fishing gears
Sea animals get incidentally captured or tangled up in Trawls, longlines, drift nets, gill nets, pots, or traps which leads to their death. Entanglement can cause drowning, direct injury from ropes and cables, fatigue and starvation. Some species are more vulnerable than others due to morphology, life history and migration patterns. For example, humpback whales are vulnerable due to their long fins and movement near coasts. Among some species, entanglement in fishing gear is a major cause of death [3].
Research suggests that over 300,000 cetaceans die annually from entanglement in fishing gear, although this should be considered extremely conservative, as most entanglements are not observed and/or reported [3]. Pinnipeds are particularly vulnerable to entanglement in marine debris, while dolphins and porpoise may become entangled in fishing nets, debris and aquaculture activities.
Bycatch
Bycatch are the animals that are accidentally captured in a fishing gear. It is estimated that at least 500,000 cetaceans are caught in this way every year.This equates to more than 800 whales, dolphins or porpoises each day, and explains why bycatch is now seen as by far the single most serious, direct threat to cetaceans This is a global issue. This happens on small and large fisheries all over the world.
Ghost fishing
How to reduce Entanglement in fishing gears
- Rope less trap/ rope less fishing
