DILI, 01 september (TATOLI)— The inventory report “Marine Plastic Pollution and its Sources in the Coral Triangle” published by the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) and the Coral Triangle Program (WWF) mentions thousands Marine species are dying due to the expansion of the fishing industry.
A recent report from CTI-CFF and WWF said the global, national, regional, and global expansion of the fishing industry, driven by global food security imperatives, has left vast amounts of discarded fishing gear.
“Also known as ghost fishing gear, it inadvertently causes the deaths of thousands of protected species, such as sea turtles, endangered shark species, and marine mammals,” explains the report accessed by Tatoli.
One of the most damaging types of marine plastic pollution is abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) also known as ghost fishing gear. With the increasing population, there is an increase in demand for fish, and hence the use of fishing gear.
Gill nets, traps, pots, fish collecting devices, and other types of fishing gear further exacerbate the plastic problem in our oceans because they end up being abandoned, lost, or thrown away.
Ghost fishing gear can continue to catch target and non-target species non-selectively for years, potentially destroying important food resources as well as endangered species, such as marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles.
“This is the deadliest form of plastic waste in the ocean. Plastic waste that destroys vital marine habitats, and poses a danger to navigation and livelihoods,” said the report.
According to a WWF report released in 2020, it is estimated that phantom equipment makes up at least 10 percent of marine debris. That means between 500,000 and 1 million tons of fishing gear is dumped into the sea every year Ocean every year.
Nets, lines, and lines from fishing and shipping make up 46 percent of the 45,000-129,000 tonnes of plastic floating in the North Pacific Gyre. Ghost fishing gear is the deadliest form of marine plastic debris. the deadliest marine plastic debris.
This debris impacts 66 percent of marine mammals, 50 percent of seabirds, and all sea turtle species – and across all species groups, ghost gear is the type most likely to be deadly (WWF, 2020).
ALDFG also destroys valuable marine habitats and can undermine the sustainability and economic profitability of fisheries as part of the catch is lost – some studies estimate that more than 90 percent of species caught with ghost gear have commercial value.
These devices also pose navigational hazards, threaten the safety of sailors, and can affect tourism by destroying the natural beauty of an area (WWF, 2020).
In 2021, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) reported that an assessment of plastic waste from various tuna fishing fleets in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean estimated that 1700 active long-line vessels generated between 402 to 935 tons of plastic line in bait bags and between 241 to 560 tons of plastic waste and 560 tons of plastic waste from bait alone from ring trawlers are dumped into the sea every year
It is known that the Coral Triangle is the world’s center of marine life, covering about 6 million square km of ocean in six countries in the Asia Pacific – Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and the Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, This area is home to 76% of the world’s known coral species, 37% of the world’s known coral reef fish species, and commercially valuable species such as tuna, whales, dolphins, rays, sharks, including 6 of the world’s 7 known species of sea turtles.
CTI-CFF is a multilateral partnership established in 2009 by six countries working together to maintain biodiversity conservation and food security through sustainable management of marine resources taking into account the impacts of climate change.
The six CTI-CFF Member Countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste) focus on the conservation of coral reefs and associated ecosystems in the Coral Triangle region.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia B.
