Lost and abandoned fishing gear which is deadly to marine life makes up the majority of large plastic pollution in the oceans, according to a report by Greenpeace. More than 640,000 tonnes of nets, lines, pots and traps used in… Read More ›
Ghost Nets
Ghost Nets & Gear Remain An Entanglement Cause
Colossal numbers of plastic bottles and bags float around the earth, and their severe impact on marine life has been extensively documented. But there’s another, lesser-known killer plastic lurking in our oceans. Every year, more than 136,000 whales, dolphins and… Read More ›
Over 100,000 Animals Annually Caught in Ghost Gear
Ghost gear is one of the biggest threats to marine animals, killing more than 100,000 whales, dolphins, seals and turtles and countless more smaller animals,” said Chiara Vitali, manager of the Sea Change campaign at World Animal Protection. “Yet the issue is still largely under-researched and receives little attention.”
West Coast Whale Entanglement Incidents Up
Of the 30 cases last year, seven whales were disentangled and released free of lines, seven were found dead, two were observed to self-release and the remaining entangled whales had an unknown fate. Most recent entanglements have occurred with Dungeness crab gear, although lobster and spot prawn gear as well as gillnets have also been identified.
A Dumpster of Derelict Nets
Ghost nets (derelict nets) , the abandoned or lost nets from fisheries worldwide, is a subject that was the beginning of this blog, Neptune 911. According to a recent post in NOAA’s Marine Debris Log, the agency’s ghost (net) busters,… Read More ›
Fishing Gear Entrapments Leading Cause of Atlantic Whale Deaths
From Science Magazine by Paul Gabrielsen On Christmas Day 2010, an aerial team of wildlife spotters saw a whale in distress off the eastern coast of Florida. Her head, mouth, and fins were tangled in 132 meters of commercial fishing… Read More ›
Australian Government Releases Images of Fishnet Trapped Seals
From News.com.au, May 13, 2013 Following a 12-month battle with the Government,The Advertiser won an appeal for still images from the videos to be released after complaining about their secret status to the Information Commissioner and agreeing to keep… Read More ›
Entangled Whale Reported Off of Santa Barbara Coast
A Santa Barbara whale watching business, Condor Express, recently reported that they observed, “…a cow-calf pair not too far from SB Harbor. Upon arriving in the area near the two whales, it became apparent that one of them (we still… Read More ›
Endangered Whales Killed in Drift Gillnets Off Pacific West Coast
April 22, 2013 Contact: Catherine Kilduff, (415) 644-8580, ckilduff@biologicaldiversity.org California Fishery Declared One of Deadliest for Endangered Whales SAN FRANCISCO— A federal report released today ranks California’s drift gillnet fishery one of the nation’s deadliest fisheries for marine mammals. The… Read More ›
Pacific Northwest Contact for Entangled Whale
SOS-WHALe Marine mammals occasionally swim into derelict fishing gear or marine debris and get stuck, injured, or even killed. Ocean users in the Northwest have an important role in helping entangled whales. In Washington and Oregon call the NOAA Fisheries… Read More ›
Neptune 911! 