Quantities “mind-boggling” used fishing gear is polluting the oceans, finds a study published in Science Advancesand relayed on Saturday 15 October by The Guardian.
To carry out the study, scientists from CSIRO and the University of Tasmania used standardized interviews with 451 commercial fishermen in seven countries (United States, Morocco, Indonesia, Belize, Peru, Iceland and New Zealand). , asking them how much material was lost. The researchers then combined this data with data on the volume of commercial fishing in the world, in order to assess the losses.
“Very worrying”
According to this study, “the most comprehensive ever on lost fishing gear”, the number of fishing nets lost or thrown into the oceans each year would be enough to cover the surface of Scotland, notes the British daily. And “if all types of lost lines were tied together”there would be plenty to do “18 times around the Earth”. The newspaper also mentions “14 billion hooks” adrift.
Or, “as nets are designed to catch and kill animals, lost gear continues to trap wildlife for years as it floats in the ocean, sinks or washes up on shore”Explain The Guardian. This waste from commercial fishing probably has deadly consequences for marine life, warn the authors of the study. “It is very worrying”underlines the scientist Denise Hardesty.