Plastic is lightweight, strong and designed to survive some of the harshest environments on Earth. But when plastic fishing gear is lost or abandoned at sea, those same qualities allow it to keep catching marine life, damaging habitats and fragmenting into microplastics.
In the latest issue of Science Victoria, our GhostNets Australia Program Manager, Jess Leck, explores this “plastic paradox” — and why addressing ghost gear requires more than cleaning it up after it reaches the ocean.
The article looks further upstream, exploring how better design, recovery systems, infrastructure and collaboration can help prevent fishing gear from becoming pollution in the first place.