Ghost fishing constitutes a vastly negative impact on global food resources.
One of the most damaging types of marine plastic pollution is fishing gear that has been left behind, lost, or discarded, known as "ghost gear". This problem is not new, but only in recent years have we started to fully understand how much damage it causes.
Fishing gear left on the seabed poses a huge environmental problem as fish and other species continue to get stuck for years while destroying natural grazing areas and coral reefs that are important to marine life.
640K
Approximately 640k tonnes of fishing gear is left in the ocean every year.
46%
At least 46% of the Great Pacific garbage patch is made of fishing gear.
90%
Some studies estimate that over 90% of species caught in ghost gear are of commercial value.
