How do plastic pollution, oil spills, and lost fishing gear harm marine fisheries?

Plastic pollution, oil spills, and lost fishing gear—often called "ghost gear"—severely threaten marine fisheries and the health of aquatic ecosystems.123

Lost Fishing Gear (Ghost Gear)

Ghost gear consists of abandoned or discarded nets, traps, and lines that continue to capture marine life, a process known as "ghost fishing". This gear is particularly harmful because it is often made of durable synthetic materials like nylon that can persist for up to 600 years. It causes widespread entanglement of fish, marine mammals, and seabirds, leading to injury, starvation, or suffocation. Furthermore, ghost gear damages sensitive habitats like coral reefs and can transport invasive species. It also negatively impacts commercial fishing operations by trapping valuable stocks, such as Dungeness crab, without being harvested.1

Plastic Pollution

Plastic waste, including microplastics, enters the ocean from land-based sources and degrades into smaller particles that are ingested by a wide range of marine species. Ingestion can lead to injury, reproductive failure, and death. These plastics also concentrate toxic pollutants, which can bioaccumulate and biomagnify through marine food webs, potentially contaminating seafood.456

Oil Spills

Oil spills cause immediate and long-term ecological damage by coating marine life, which destroys the insulating properties of fur and feathers and leads to hypothermia. Oil also reduces dissolved oxygen and blocks sunlight, harming aquatic plants and animals. Consequently, major spills often force the suspension of commercial fishing to prevent the harvest of contaminated seafood and to protect vessels from damage.2