Biodegradable fishing gear: part of the solution to ghost fishing and marine pollution

Anthropogenic Threats to Alligator Snapping Turtles (Chelydridae: Macrochelys)

“…Sea turtle researchers have tried a wide variety of techniques to mitigate bycatch via reduction in the catch rate or reducing mortality once caught (FAO 2010;Reinhardt et al 2018;Swimmer et al 2017Swimmer et al , 2020. Changes in hook type, size, and bait had significant effects on bycatch rate and hooking locations (Gilman andHuang 2017, Parga et al 2015). Other research areas may lead to development of net material and fishing lines that biodegrade more readily (Gilman 2016, Kim et al 2016, which could help alleviate the problem of abandoned and lost fishing gear.…”

“…Anecdotal reports by anglers in southeastern Oklahoma indicated that M. temminckii was not usually attracted by catfish stink baits (Heck 1998), perhaps another possibility for use with angling gear. Use of biodegradable lines in gear preparation could also help with the problem of abandoned and lost gear (Gilman 2016, Kim et al 2016).…”

“…Changes in hook type, size, and bait had significant effects on bycatch rate and hooking locations (Gilman and Huang 2017, Parga et al 2015). Other research areas may lead to development of net material and fishing lines that biodegrade more readily (Gilman 2016, Kim et al 2016), which could help alleviate the problem of abandoned and lost fishing gear. There has also been fisheries research on making ingested hooks that pass more easily through the digestive tract and corrode more rapidly when abandoned in the environment (McGrath et al 2011).…”

Ghost Fishing by Abandoned Trotlines in a Simulated and Actual Reservoir

“…Studies on ghost fishing have historically focused on an array of marine fishing gears, including nets and traps, with rare situations occurring with similar gears in freshwater systems (Bullimore et al 2001; Matsuoka et al 2005; Gilman 2015; Spirkovski et al 2019). Nets and trap devices are effective at ghost fishing due in part to their construction, durability, and consequently their longevity (Gilman 2016). It is well established that once an organism becomes trapped in a gear, the organism can itself become an attractant to other organisms, leading to a cycle of take that can continue until the gear deteriorates (Smolowitz 1978; Kaiser et al 1996; Gilman 2016).…”

“…Nets and trap devices are effective at ghost fishing due in part to their construction, durability, and consequently their longevity (Gilman 2016). It is well established that once an organism becomes trapped in a gear, the organism can itself become an attractant to other organisms, leading to a cycle of take that can continue until the gear deteriorates (Smolowitz 1978; Kaiser et al 1996; Gilman 2016). Larger marine gears such as nets and trawls gain most of the attention for ghost fishing, but theoretically, any submerged passive fishing gear is susceptible to ghost fishing postabandonment.…”