Vessels operating in Kerala state lost, abandoned or discarded an average of 167.5 kilograms of fishing gear per vessel each year, according to a survey of 390 fishers published in Ocean Science Journal. The findings suggest that 21 per cent of all fishing gear used annually in Kerala enters the Arabian Sea as ghost gear — nets, lines and other equipment that continue trapping marine life long after crews cut them loose.
The loss rate is more than 10 times the global average of 1.82 per cent. Scaled across Kerala’s 28,000 to 34,000 marine fishing vessels, the data indicate thousands of tonnes of synthetic material sink into coastal waters each year from this single Indian state. Fishers reported that 11.6 per cent of gear was lost unintentionally, 7.5 per cent abandoned and 2.3 per cent deliberately discarded.
Motorised large-mesh ring seine vessels recorded the highest loss rate at 35.5 per cent, followed by small-mesh ring seine at 29.7 per cent and mini trawl at 27.4 per cent. Shore seine operations lost just 0.32 per cent. Researchers Damaris Benny Daniel and Saly N. Thomas noted significant variation between gear types, with trammel nets, gillnets and trawl categories each showing distinct loss patterns tied to where and how they operate.
Seabed snags and crowded waters.
Rocky seabeds along the Kerala coast snag nets during routine fishing operations. Crews working in the congested near-shore waters off Kochi and other harbours face additional hazards from overlapping traditional and mechanised fleets. Retrieval competes against fishing time, and with few recycling options available on shore, damaged gear is often cut away and left to drift or settle on the seabed.
Once abandoned, the nylon and synthetic materials continue to function. Drifting nets ensnare fish and sea turtles. Lines wrap around coral structures. Over time, the gear fragments into smaller particles that marine animals ingest. India supports an estimated 14.5 million fishing livelihoods along more than 7,500 kilometres of coastline, yet no national system tracks, retrieves or recycles lost fishing gear.
The study authors noted that the estimates and trends can assist in filling data gaps about fishing gear loss and aid in the design of strategies to manage marine debris from the fishing industry. Ocean currents carry ghost gear across national boundaries, complicating both accountability and response along the wider Arabian Sea coast.
Source: Ocean Science Journal.
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