Lost at sea: The hidden cost of ghost gear

Lost at sea: The hidden cost of ghost gear

By Valérie DEKIMPE | Pierre LEMARINIER | Elise DUFFAU | Marina BERTSCH

Source: france24

2/24/2023

Valérie DEKIMPE | Pierre LEMARINIER | Elise DUFFAU | Marina BERTSCH

Credit: Sandrine Ruitton

If you think fishing nets are made of natural rope, think again — they're made of plastic. Every year, some 80,000 km² of nets are lost and abandoned at sea. As they drift aimlessly, these so-called "ghost nets" litter the ocean floor and trap nearly everything in their path. We take a closer look in this Edition of Down to Earth.

Robot to the rescue

The problem of "ghost nets" is widespread in the south of France, where scientists and divers often come to the rescue in order to remove fishing gear that's been abandoned. French association 'Les Ressources Sous-marines' is one of them. The small company has built a robot that can scour the sea floor in search of nets and retrieve them.

Continue...

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