Update: The Global Oceans Action Summit was a great success! Our Sea Change campaign was well received. The Chair’s ‘summary report’ called for high-level action on plastic pollution, in particular ghost fishing gear. This will provide a firm foundation for our campaign.
We're at the Global Oceans Action Summit in The Hague this week promoting our new report which reveals how ghost fishing gear – nets, lines and traps that are lost or discarded in our oceans – is one of the biggest killers of marine life.
Ghost gear has a devastating effect on marine animals, injuring and killing millions of seals, whales, turtles and seabirds. It is found in every ocean and sea on the planet.
And it doesn’t just cost lives – it also costs governments and marine industries millions of dollars in clean-up expenses and lost revenue each year. Made mostly of plastic, this silent killer will persist in our oceans for centuries.
Our new report is the first ever in-depth review of the issue from an animal welfare perspective. It reveals the global scale of the problem and the types of harm caused to marine animals.
We will be sharing our report with government and industry representatives at the Global Oceans Action Summit where the focus is on collaboration across sectors to achieve healthier and productive oceans. We will also be making our case for global cross-sectoral action and cooperation to provide a lasting solution to the ghost gear problem.
Learn about Sea Change, our campaign to tackle ghost fishing gear.
Image: Michael Pitts / naturepl.com
By uniting global efforts to tackle ghost fishing gear, we will ensure that it does not pose an ever-growing threat to our oceans or the animals that live in them.
