Abandoned, lost or discarded fishing equipment that continues trapping and killing marine animals long after it has been left in the ocean. The nets, lines, pots and other gear drift through the water or settle on the seabed, ensnaring fish, turtles, seabirds and marine mammals in what becomes a perpetual cycle of death.
Ghost gear represents a significant threat to ocean ecosystems worldwide, accounting for a substantial portion of marine plastic pollution. The equipment can persist for decades, with synthetic materials taking hundreds of years to break down, during which time a single abandoned net may trap thousands of animals. Conservation groups and fishing communities now work to recover ghost gear through targeted retrieval operations, though the scale of the problem continues to grow with the expansion of commercial fishing.
