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The deadliest
catch: Ghost
fishing gear
A new report from World Animal
Protection is calling for the world’s 15
biggest seafood companies to do more
to prevent their lost fishing nets from
unnecessarily killing millions of fish.
They claim an estimated 5 to 30% of
the decline in some fish stocks can
be attributed to ‘ghost gear’, which
is the term used for abandoned, lost
or discarded fishing gear. These traps
and nets may be lost, but that doesn’t
stop them catching and killing fish –
and they can take up to 600 years to
decompose.
TheGhosts beneath the wavesreport
ranks the world’s 15 biggest seafood
companies on their ability to address
the problem of ghost gear; with tier 1
being the best and tier 5 the worst. Only
three of the 15 companies achieved
‘Improver’ tier 3 status, including Thai
Union, the owners of John West, a
popular seafood brand in Australia.
Not one of the world’s biggest seafood
companies achieved tier 1 or tier 2
status, indicating there is a long way to
go to address this deadly menace.
Besides oceanic fish, like this sunfish,
lost or abandoned nets are believed
to kill more than 100,000 whales,
dolphins, seals and turtles each year.
The Global Ghost Gear Initiative
(GGGI) is an alliance including the
fishing industry, the private sector,
academia, governments and
organisations. Founded by World Animal
Protection in 2015, it is dedicated to
fighting the problem of ghost fishing
gear at a global level.The Game Fishing Association of Australia’s (GFAA) National Junior Tournament has been a
great success. Through the dedication of Kevin Oates and his team of State volunteers they
have engaged and inspired a whole wave of new junior recruits into the sport.
Entry into the annual competition is free to all GFAA-registered anglers under the age of 16.
Juniors not currently a member of GFAA are invited to find their nearest affiliated club via the
website:www.gfaa.asn.au
To enhance the program, the GFAA National Junior Tournament recently launched dedicated
Facebook and Instagram pages, so Junior and Small Fry anglers can share news and photos
of their efforts, their stories and their achievements on the water.
To assist with the new social media pages, Kevin and the team have invited young ladies
from each State, all of which have been State or National winners of the GFAA Junior
Tournament. Their aim is to give the junior competitors a forum where their successes can be
recorded and shared with fellow competitors and friends. They encourage all juniors to ‘Like’
the pages and follow these incredible journeys.
The pages will also promote GFAA club tournaments, so request all clubs to provide
information to encourage Juniors and Small Fry anglers to participate.The Game Fishing
Association of Australia’s
National Junior Tournament
is a great inspiration to
young anglers, and its new
social media pages invite all
juniors to get involved.Even when lost or abandoned, commercial fishing nets adrift
can catch and kill for many years. Besides fish like this huge
oceanic sunfish, ‘ghost fishing gear’ is estimated to kill
thousands of turtles, seals and whales each year.NEWSLINESGFAA
inspires the
juniors