Entanglement in fishing gear, plastic waste, and other marine debris causes significant suffering and death in marine wildlife — from seals and dolphins to albatrosses and sea turtles.
Marine entanglement causes some of the most prolonged and agonising deaths in wildlife. A whale dragging hundreds of metres of crab pot rope experiences progressive deterioration over months — rope cuts into flesh, infections develop, movement becomes increasingly difficult, and starvation follows as the whale cannot feed effectively. Seabirds entangled in monofilament line often drown. Seals and sea lions with neck loops from plastic packaging constrict as the animal grows. Preventing gear loss, recovering ghost gear, and developing whale-safe fishing technologies are the most impactful interventions.