Original Article: http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/ghost_fishing_nets_invisible_killers_in_the_oceans/
Have you ever wondered what happens to all of that fishing gear that fisherman lose, forget, or knowingly abandon? Nothing. It's left to drift down in the bottom of the ocean. Hundreds of nets float aimlessly around under the surface ensnaring helpless marine-life and wrapping itself around coral reefs and other habitats trapping whatever lives there. Long story short, this discarded fishing gear that you'd think is harmless actually kills countless fish every year. The problem is that a lot of the gear is made of Polyurethane, a non-biodegradable material, so they will remain under the sea for an incredibly long time unless they are physically removed by humans. Luckily for sea creatures there are a number of humans willing to do just that.
Groups such as Ghost Fishing, the Olive Ridley Project, and GhostNets Australia send out groups of divers to free sea-life from these traps and then take the nets out of the ocean. They also work to convince the fisherman who leave these horrid things around to A. Not! and B. Use biodegradable fishing equipment so at the very least the equipment wont sit around forever if it is lost. Also an incredible program called Fishing for Energy works to convert the old nasty gear into... energy! That's right they recycle all the gear that is collected and send it to Covanta Energy locations where they convert it into usable energy. It's pretty incredible.
Thanks to groups like these all hope for these innocent little swimmers is not lost. However they have just begun to scratch the surface of this problem. What makes it so hard, as Cas Renooji (Director of Ghost Fishing) says in the article; "The thing about this problem is it happens at the bottom of the ocean and no one sees it - It's an invisible problem." So know that you know about it start spreading awareness yourself! It's the least we can all do to help.
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I've noticed a trend in your blog posts... I enjoy the fish awareness theme. I was not aware that fisherman simply dump their gear in the middle of the ocean, It seems like it would be just as easy for fisherman to take the gear back on their big ol' ships. This problem shows how lazy the world is. However, your post, unlike others, optimistically tells us about organizations that are combating the issue. Unfortunately, foolish fishermen are counteracting their efforts. Aside from minor punctuation errors that make the reading of the post slightly less fluid, your blog post was very well done. Good job, Matt!
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ReplyDeleteI have never really thought about all the equipment that fishermen just abandon or lose. I also have never heard of ghost fishing. The fact that I have never heard of ghost fishing is another problem by itself, considering it obviously doesn't get the attention it deserves. I like the common theme in your posts because it shows your passion for the ocean. I also have interest in the ocean, so I enjoy your posts. As other Matt has pointed out in his comment, the problem is we don't think about what our actions may effect our planet and other organisms, but how it will be a burden on us. Fishermen don't care if it is bad for the marine life, but that we don't fell like lugging it back to shore. I find this sort of disturbing and I'm glad you decided to write about it! Yet again a another well written blog post!
I have never heard about this before and wanted to know what it was. You did a very good job of explaining the process of how this effects sea life. I was not aware of this problem but am glad to see that people are willing to help out and save wildlife. I was wondering what your opinion was on this and what this could have related to in class. But overall good job and good choice of a picture.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I think that fisherman should be somewhat ashamed of themselves for disregarding their equipment which is now causing a problem for sea creatures. I think fisherman need to stop being so lazy and hold onto their equipment until they have a time to dispose of it, or send it to someplace like the Fishing for Energy program. Like you said, this problem is an “invisible problem” because it occurs at the bottom of the ocean, so I was unaware that this was a problem, and I’m sure many other people in the world don’t know about it and need to become aware of it. I think that fisherman should switch to biodegradable equipment, but I’m curious if the reason why they aren’t switching is because the biodegradable nets are less dependable (for example, maybe they aren’t as strong), or are they just lazy?
ReplyDeleteMatt, what reeled me in (pun intended) was your title. I had only heard of the Curse of the Flying Dutchman, not the Ghost Net. Your article shed light on an issue that I did not know about. I had no idea fisherman just dumped old equipment off the side, and I come from a long line of sailors and fishermen. I agree with you that they should not be dumping things into the ocean. It’s one thing if something is lost but they should bring it back to shore. From a business standpoint there is still probably a small market for old/broken equipment. And you’re right it is super incredible that old junk can be converted into energy!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog to read, unlike many others that I've commented on in the past. Your tone wasn't boring, and your paragraphs weren't big walls of text. I guess that I should have expected that this would be a problem, given all the buoys and fishnets you find on the beach. I really just can't imagine that there are enough dumb fisherman to just drop their gear into the ocean, but storms and bad weather must be a factor. Bio-degradable gear sounds like a great solution at first, but what fisherman wants his equipment to be so easily worn away by the ocean? If something is biodegradable, it certainly can't last too long in the rough seas fisherman work in. When you consider how much money fisherman will have to invest to restock their worn equipment, the bio-degradable solution doesn't seem so beneficial anymore. There has to be another, less taxing way to prevent this.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job! I found this blog very interesting to read, including your title. It really made me wonder what your blog will be about but it also gives a little information on what you will be writing about. I think that it is great that you choose to write about a topic that is not very well known. I think a big factor of this class blog is to spread awareness of environmental issues and if everyone is writing about one topic the word may not get out about some of these unknown but equally important issues. Great job breaking away from the norm! I also really enjoyed how you not only talked about what ghost fishing is but you also talked about the organizations that are trying to help. Overall great job! I was never bored reading this blog and it was very informative!
ReplyDeleteI have always thought about paper bags being sent out to sea, but I have never thought about fishing equipment being of harm to sea life. Your title caught my attention first! It made me want to read the article. I also liked how you made your response very engaging and entertaining. I didn't get bored while reading it. I think this response also sends awareness to others. The more people know about this, the next time they go fishing, they won't be careless with there equipment. I also loved the topic because it strays away from Global Warming and focuses on other factors harming the enviorment! Great Job!
ReplyDeleteI have always thought about paper bags being sent out to sea, but I have never thought about fishing equipment being of harm to sea life. Your title caught my attention first! It made me want to read the article. I also liked how you made your response very engaging and entertaining. I didn't get bored while reading it. I think this response also sends awareness to others. The more people know about this, the next time they go fishing, they won't be careless with there equipment. I also loved the topic because it strays away from Global Warming and focuses on other factors harming the enviorment! Great Job!
ReplyDeleteI have always thought about paper bags being sent out to sea, but I have never thought about fishing equipment being of harm to sea life. Your title caught my attention first! It made me want to read the article. I also liked how you made your response very engaging and entertaining. I didn't get bored while reading it. I think this response also sends awareness to others. The more people know about this, the next time they go fishing, they won't be careless with there equipment. I also loved the topic because it strays away from Global Warming and focuses on other factors harming the enviorment! Great Job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Matt! I have never heard of Ghost Fishing and I also was not aware that many fishermen just dump their unneeded equipment into the waters. I also really enjoyed the quote you used. I agree with Cas Renooji that it is an invisible problem because it is happening at the bottom of the ocean and I feel that more people should be more aware about this situation. In addition, I liked how you mention a couple of organizations that are working to fix this horrible problem. Overall I found your blog post very interesting!
ReplyDeleteMatt, I really enjoyed your blog and I thought it was a great read. I did not know that most of the fishing gear that fisherman use are not biodegradable and cant not be gotten rid of unless by humans. I also find it very reassuring that there are men and women that are using their time to help marine biology life by getting rid of the lost fishing equipment. I have also noticed that all of your blogs have to do with fish and other marine creatures. Overall, I really liked your blog and I thought you did a great job.
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteYour article was very well written and brought up a topic that is not very well recognized. I think that the most interesting thing about this situation is that most fishing gear is not biodegradable. I want to know, why dont the companies making these supplies substitute biodegradable material for their equipment to avoid the possible consiquences to the sea life? It is incredible that these certain groups are doing what they can to remove these harmful pieces of discarded equipment from the water. I could tell that you care about what you wrote about, making a very good article. My final questioon would be whether this is just a problem regarding only ocean life or does it concern fresh water fish in a similar way. Overall great job matt!
I have never heard of ghost fishing and your title made me want to read your blog. I didn't know the equipment the fishermen lost was harmful to the animals in the sea. I like how your paragraphs are short and get straight to the point. It was easy to follow along and I never lost interest in the reading. I wonder how you could make a biodegradable tool! With all the new technology we have, I think they will be able to do it. It is said to know that fishermen do not care enough about the tools that they lose in the water. I like the fact that people have made organizations and groups to help try and prevent the problem from getting any worse. Not enough people know about this problem, and I think we need to spread word fast before the problem gets bigger. I loved your blog, great job!
ReplyDeleteMatt the thing that caught my attention right away when I saw this post was your title. I have never heard of ghost fishing before and I was very interested in what it was. One of my favorite things about this post was how you clearly described everything and gave amazing details. I have never thought about what happens to all the discarded equipment that fishermen leave in the ocean and I never thought that things like this could cause such a serious problem. Lastly I liked how you wrote in short paragraphs but everyone was packed with information. Overall I thought your blog was great!
ReplyDeleteMatt, I love how you picked such an interesting topic for your blog. The last blog you wrote I also read, it was just as interesting as this one. I decided to read your post because of the bright colors in the picture and the title. The first couple sentences of your second paragraph were very easy to picture. I just see a bunch of fishing poles and nets following the current. I had never really thought about the topic that much because I thought fishermen were good about picking up what's theirs. But now that I think about, its true. All they are doing is hurting their own business, because they are just killing what they are trying to catch. Your paragraphs were short and to the point, which I loved. I liked how you were so serious on such a sad topic. I thought your blog post was great the whole time, there was not one dull moment. So great job!
ReplyDeleteThe topic for your blog was very interesting. The title definitely tied into the topic, but was a bit confusing at first. Your post was well-written and easy to understand, but seemed a bit casual in some places.Your blog post definitely made the issue clear and I have heard of this topic before, but your post showed how big of an issue this is to our world. Great job overall!
ReplyDeleteI like how you kept the tome of your post positive, and focused on how the issue can be stopped. I never thought about what happened to lost gear, and it never even occurred to me that fishermen would dump old gear into the ocean! I also like how you end the blog encouraging others to do what you have done, and spread awareness of a topic that the majority of your readers probably would have never known about otherwise.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post. Really caught my attention with the title and the grabber. Your tone throughout the post made me want to read more and learn about this topic. I am glad you wrote about this because I did not know about it before. i loved how you included what organizations do to stop ghost fishing and how you wrote for every one to spread the word. Great Blog!
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