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Sea turtle caught in a ghost net

Ocean ghosts wait for the unwary

(From smh.com.au) – Ghost nets are the serial killers of the oceans, floating aimlessly in the waters of the gulf. They fish indiscriminately and do not care if you are an endangered or protected species. Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been lost accidentally, deliberately discarded or simply abandoned. They travel the oceans with the currents and tides, continually fishing as they progress through the waters.

Given that the Gulf of Carpentaria is a near landlocked body of water, it acts as a catchment for all ghost nets in the Indo-Pacific region.

Once the nets are in the gulf, due to a circular current called a gyre, they become stuck in an endless cycle of fishing, being washed ashore and washed back into the water during a storm or king tide.

Luckily for the turtles, there are “ghost busters” who are determined to rid the gulf of these environmental vandals.

Riki Gunn is one of the ghost busters. She is the project co-ordinator for the Carpentaria ghost nets program.

So far the program has removed 80,141 metres of net from remote areas in the gulf. The largest have been Taiwanese gill nets, estimated to weigh as much as five tonnes and measuring four kilometres long with a drop of 12 metres.

“The problem with ghost nets, or any marine debris, is the impact they create on the environment physically as well as ecologically,” Gunn says. “Their impact on threatened and endangered species such as the Olive Ridley turtle is a major concern.”

According to research, nearly 90 per cent of the marine debris entering the gulf, including the ghost nets, is a byproduct of fishing and comes from all parts of South-East Asia.

More than 200 different types of nets have been found, containing a range of rubbish and sea creatures including fishing gear, sharks, marine turtles, Indonesian water bottles and, strangely, left-footed thongs. Only 10 per cent of the ghost nets found so far have been of Australian origin.

“The Gulf of Carpentaria is one of the most pristine marine environments, apart from the Antarctic, left in the world,” Gunn says. “This makes finding a solution to the problem a complex issue [which needs] more than just a quick-fix clean-up and an education campaign for local fishermen.”

She says international liaison is needed to stop the main source of the menace – international fishing fleets.

(By Emma Blacklock) 

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